With the recent 50th anniversary of the opening of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, this is obviously a timely work. And growing up in the New York City area, and having been to Flushing Meadow-Corona Park many times, I was excited to read this book and get the “behind the scenes story” of this seminal cultural event.
I was not disappointed.
Joseph Tirella does an excellent job of making the argument that 1964-65 World’s Fair occurred when the values of 1950’s America we changing into the values of 1960’s America. Rock ‘n roll is on the upswing. The civil rights movement is gaining momentum. Fear of crime is growing…
While the context is interesting, I found his telling of Master Builder Robert Moses’ micromanaging of the event to be absolutely fascinating.
Read reviews from Kirkus Reviews and MacClean’s.
The New York Times recently ran an excellent story that featured some memories of those who attended the fair.
And just for fun, read Isaac Asimov’s 1964 essay “A Visit to the World’s Fair of 2014.”