World of Fairs: The Century-of-Progress Expositions - Softcover

Rydell, Robert W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226732371 ISBN 13: 9780226732374

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1993

Synopsis

In the depths of the Great Depression, when America's future seemed bleak, nearly one hundred million people visited expositions celebrating the "century of progress." These fairs fired the national imagination and served as cultural icons on which Americans fixed their hopes for prosperity and power.

World of Fairs continues Robert W. Rydell's unique cultural history—begun in his acclaimed All the World's a Fair—this time focusing on the interwar exhibitions. He shows how the ideas of a few—particularly artists, architects, and scientists—were broadcast to millions, proclaiming the arrival of modern America—a new empire of abundance build on old foundations of inequality.

Rydell revisits several fairs, highlighting the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial, the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition, the 1933-34 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, the 1935-36 San Diego California Pacific Exposition, the 1936 Dallas Texas Centennial Exposition, the 1937 Cleveland Great Lakes and International Exposition, the 1939-40 San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, and the 1958 Brussels Universal Exposition.

About this title

About the Author

Robert W. Rydell is professor of history at Montana State University. His All the World's A Fair is also published by the University of Chicago Press.

From Publishers Weekly

Historian Rydell ( All the World's a Fair ) analyzes the content and impact of Depression-era "century of progress" fairs. He convincingly documents his conclusion that these fairs tried to create middle-class cohesion by promoting faith in the government, in the synonymy of science and progress, and in the goodwill of major corporations. Beginning with the revitalization of the world's fair movement after the stock market crash of 1929, he then looks at how fairs promoted eugenics as part of the definition of a better future. In discussing specific fairs, he finds imperialism buttressed in the contents of the 1939-40 San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition. He sees "the unity of science and industry" extolled at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, where a future of consumer bliss was promised by companies such as General Foods and Formica. A provocative chapter is devoted to the efforts of African Americans (who, in general, had a different view of the future) to nudge the fairs to acknowledge social justice issues. However, though he includes numerous interesting details, Rydell's ponderous, jargon-laden style detracts from his mission. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0226732371
• ISBN 13: 9780226732374
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 280