In Scott Reynolds Nelson’s Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend, the problematic period known as “Reconstruction” in the gap between 1865 and 1876 in American history is treated to an examination that is both personal and mythic in its telling. The reason I selected the work is that the story Nelson crafts is very relevant to us today – when the terms “systemic racism” and “social justice” fill the headlines surrounding a larger number of issues in our society, it might be helpful to use the past as a reference to test these claims. If we want to understand America today, a glimpse into the record of history and its efforts, successes or failures in making social change possible is the natural place to start.