The building of the first US transcontinental railroad is a subject I find endlessly fascinating -- so revealing of the American character in so many ways. No topic in this epic achievement is more enthralling than the financial shenanigans that pervaded the entire enterprise. And no figure was more central to that skullduggery than Dr. Thomas C. Durant (1820–1885), who trained as an ophthalmologist but made his reputation as a serial swindler of Union Pacific Railroad investors -- easily one of the most manic and psychopathic entrepreneurs ever, a guy with a compulsive urge to cheat all of the people all of the time.
Here's my favorite photo of Doc Durant. He's shown standing on the roadbed (awaiting rails) of the Union Pacific at the 100th meridian, Cozad, Nebraska, 1866. The good doctor is depicted staring off into the distance, a lonely visionary no doubt contemplating his next fraud: <http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/graphics/rr_construction/lr_jc-208-end-of-track.jpg>
Carl
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