The Inside Man is the culmination of more than seventeen years of groundbreaking, meticulous, and exhaustive research into the life of this least known or understood of the "Big Five" who built the western end of the first transcontinental railroad. Drawn from original sources most of which have hitherto been inaccessible or ignored by previous chroniclers-thousands of pages of handwritten letters, telegrams, accounts from scores of newspapers archived around the country, including biographical and historical works-are brought to bear in this monumental account. More than the biography of one individual, this masterful account weaves within the narrative the many forces and competing issues faced by Mark Hopkins and his associates as well as the culture and mores of late nineteenth century California, and their very personal struggles and conflicts.