A Wilsonian hybrid: the powers of government and the spirit of capitalism -- The tensions and opportunities of Federalism: commercial conflict in the New York region -- Designing a new organization: an uneasy marriage of planning and politics -- Modernizing the rail system: contending strategies for an expanding metropolis -- Negotiating with the railroads: regional planning confronts the wary capitalist -- Politics and engineering passion: expanding the Port Authority's dreams -- A web of bridges, tunnels, and political intrigue -- Near bankruptcy and the loss of vision -- Federalism as a lawyers' playground -- The threat to municipal bonds as danger and opportunity -- To claim the skies and the seas -- Breaking the airline monopoly -- More than "a humdrum job of engineering": creating a giant bus station in Manhattan -- A regional empire in American politics: local history and its impact, leadership strategies, and ethical dilemmas -- Epilogue: Triumphs and travails of an aging empire -- Appendix: The Port compact of 1921.