Despite record levels of government spending, America's transportation system is plagued by traffic congestion, decaying infrastructure, and politicization of transportation funding—leading to calamities such as the 2007 collapse an interstate highway bridge over the Mississippi River and political fiascos such as Alaska's infamous "Bridge to Nowhere." In his new book, Cornell professor of policy analysis and management Rick Geddes surveys the current state of U.S. ground transportation and finds that, like the roads themselves, transportation policy is in desperate need of repair. In a "Chats in the Stacks" book talk held at Mann Library on October 20, 2011, Prof. Geddes discusses key highlights from the book to suggest promising new approaches toward road financing in America.