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Cover for the book: End of the Innocence, The
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The End of the Innocence

The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair

Lawrence R. Samuel

Paper $19.95 | 9780815609568Add to cart

Hardcover $29.95 | 9780815608905Add to cart

eBook 9780815651451

Subjects: New York State, American history

"The End of the Innocence captures the nebulous moods of the1964-1965 New York World's Fair, an exposition full of the corporate, geopolitical, and racial contradictions of Gold War America."—Journal of American History

Description

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.

About the Author

Lawrence R. Samuel is the author of seven books, including Pledging Allegiance: American Identity and the Bond Drive of World War II and Television Advertising and the American Dream. He lives in Miami Beach, Florida.


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