Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University. In this lecture, Dr. White discusses his latest book, Railroaded, that is an “original, deeply researched history [that] shows the transcontinentals to be pivotal actors in the making of modern America. But the triumphal myths of the golden spike, robber barons larger than life, and an innovative capitalism all die here. Instead we have a new vision of the Gilded Age, often darkly funny, that shows history to be rooted in failure as well as success.”