Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Emeritus at Stanford University. A U.S. historian who specializes in the American West, the history of capitalism, environmental history, history and memory, and Native American history, Professor White is a MacArthur Fellow and a recipient of the Mellon Distinguished Professor Award.  He has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, for his works The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815, and Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America.