Scott Nelson was raised in Sanford, Florida. After working in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Toronto, Ontario as a bookseller, busboy, teacher, and network engineer, he received a PhD in American History from the University of North Carolina in 1995. Today he is Legum Professor of History at the College of William & Mary where he teaches nineteenth-century American history. Nelson is a warm and witty public lecturer. He has delivered large public lectures for audiences on four continents including venues in Toronto, Paris, London, and Hong Kong.

His first book, "Iron Confederacies," was a business and labor history of the Southern Railway, the world’s first multi-divisional corporation. Nelson’s second book, "Steel Drivin’ Man" explored the real life and legend of railway hero John Henry. The book won the Merle Curti Prize for U.S. history, the Anisfield-Wolf Prize, the National Award for Fine Arts, and the Virginia Literary Award for nonfiction.

In 2007 with historian Marc Aronson he wrote a children’s book on how historians do research entitled "Ain’t Nothing But a Man," which won eight national awards including the Jane Addams Prize for the best book on social justice. With William & Mary colleague Carol Sheriff he wrote a study of daily life in the American Civil War, A People at War which received starred reviews in Library Journal and Choice, and has been adopted as a text in many parts of the country.

His latest book, "A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America’s Financial Disasters," explores how America’s numerous financial downturns reshaped American politics and society.

Historians & Biographers, Non-Fiction Authors, Authors, History