Steve Blank has told the story, The Secret History of Silicon Valley, in numerous presentations available online. He punctures the notion that venture capital made the valley productive. Rather it was WWII and especially post WWII investment in defense technology that bootstrapped the intellectual achievements upon which the valley coasts. site 
YOUTUBE ZTC_RxWN_xo Uploaded on Dec 3, 2008. Recorded: November 20, 2008 at the Computer History Museum.
See Infected with ROI for the negative consequences of this misunderstanding.
See That Word, Innovation for more confusion of novelty with progress.
See Nuclear Brink for William Perry's insider's view of nuclear escalation.