SCOTT NELSON, Legum Professor of History at the College of William & Mary, discusses his new book A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America’s Financial Disasters

Nelson is the author of Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of An American Legend (2008) which won the Merle Curti Prize for the best book in U.S. social and cultural history. Nelson’s paper can be found here.