Scott Nelson
Athletic Association Professor in the Humanities, Department of History, University of Georgia
Email:
srnelson@uga.edu
Background
Scott Nelson's first book was Iron Confederacies, an exploration of the first modern corporation – the Southern Railway – and its outsized influence in cementing the inequalities of the modern South. His second book, Steel Drivin' Man, explored the real life and legend of railway hero John Henry, and was the winner of four national prizes. Nelson's latest book, A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America’s Financial Disasters, was published by Knopf in 2012, and received favorable reviews in The Economist, The New York Times Magazine, and was featured on NPR’s Marketplace and BBC World Service. Business Week named it a best business book of 2012. Professor Nelson was the Legum Professor of History at the College of William and Mary, and now teaches in the Department of History at the University of Georgia.
