a also a professor of history at stanford university and during the billing center for the american west with me and the author of the new book, "railroaded: the transcontinentals and the making of modern america." richard is the more precise professor of history at stanford, where he has been since 1998. he previously taught among other places at the university of utah and the university of washington, where he took his phd. my wonderful colleague, richard white is widely regarded as a leading, one might say the leading scholar in three distinct fields of the american west, environmental history, subset of our discipline he helped pioneer and native americans. he has been the recipient of the macarthur genius report in the out or at several notable works, including a book entitled from it's your misfortune and none of my own published 1991.