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The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair
Syracuse University Press
August 2010
On Sale: August 13, 2010
272 pages
ISBN: 0815609566
EAN: 9780815609568
Kindle: B0034G64D4
Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
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Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction History
From April 1964 to October 1965, some 52 million people from
around the world flocked to the New York World’s
Fair, an experience that lives on in the memory of
many individuals and in America’s collective
consciousness. Taking a perceptive look back at "the
last of the great world’s fairs," Samuel offers a
vivid portrait of this seminal event and of the
cultural climate that surrounded it. He also counters
critics’ assessments of the fair as the "ugly
duckling" of global expositions. Opening five months
after President Kennedy’s assassination, the fair allowed
millions to celebrate international fellowship while
the conflict in Vietnam came to a boil. This event
was perhaps the last time so many from so far could
gather to praise harmony while ignoring cruel realities on
such a gargantuan scale. This world’s fair glorified
the postwar American dream of limitless optimism even
as a counterculture of sex, drugs, and rock `n` roll
came into being. It could rightly be called the last gasp of
that dream: The End of the Innocence. Samuel’s
work charts the fair from inception in 1959 to demolition
in 1966 and provides a broad overview of the social
and cultural dynamics that led to the birth of the
event. It also traces thematic aspects of the fair,
with its focus on science, technology, and the world of the
future. Accessible, entertaining, and informative,
the book is richly illustrated with contemporary
photographs.
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