This is a classic monograph in every respect but one: it is highly entertaining. Carefully researched, well-written, and closely argued, ...this lively, engaging book is highly recommended as a vital contribution to a frequently overlooked aspect of railway history. --Railroad History<br> Probably the most illuminating study ever done of the legal profession's role in mediating between business enterprise and the state....Impeccable in its research, highly sophisticated in its method, Kostal's book sets a new standard for the study of law in society, showing how the world of law and lawyers, a realm with its own peculiar logic and habits, often interacts with bizarre and perverse effects upon its social and economic environment. --Robert W. Gordon, Yale Law School<br>