The Driver is a novel by American financial journalist Garet Garrett, published in 1922 by E.P.
The novel was also influenced by the zeitgeist of the Gilded Age, a time of rapid industrialization, leading to the growth of corporate power.
Through his own vision and work ethic, Galt takes over the failing Great Midwestern Railroad during an economic crisis, turning it into a hugely productive and profitable asset for the benefit of himself and the rest of the nation.
The novel begins against the backdrop of the panic of 1893 and the free silver movement when many real-life railroads went bankrupt.
His enemies, along with the federal government, set out to destroy Galt and topple the empire he has built.