Description

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"A marvelous recounting of the 1901 World’s Fair. Every chapter sparkles…The Buffalo-Niagara Falls extravaganza comes alive in these pages. Highly recommended!" —Douglas Brinkley, author of American Moonshot

The Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, dazzled with its new rainbow-colored electric lights. It showcased an array of wonders, like daredevils attempting to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or the "Animal King" putting the smallest woman in the world and also terrifying animals on display. But the thrill-seeking spectators little suspected that an assassin walked the fairgrounds, waiting for President William McKinley to arrive. In Margaret Creighton’s hands, the result is "a persuasive case that the fair was a microcosm of some momentous facets of the United States, good and bad, at the onset of the American Century" (Howard Schneider, Wall Street Journal).

About the Author

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Margaret S. Creighton is the author of The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History, a finalist for the Lincoln Prize, and other works. She is a professor of history at Bates College and lives in Maine.

Praise For…

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Wonderfully informative, evocative, illuminating.
— Buffalo News

A delightful read.
— Portland Press Herald

Lively.
— Christian Science Monitor

Required reading.
— New York Post

Engrossing…Creighton skillfully maintains objectivity, showing the good and the bad, the fair’s pageantry as well as its seedy underbelly.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Creighton shines.
— Booklist

While perhaps not quite as well known as the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, was equally full of drama and intrigue…The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City is the compelling story of an event that sparked technological advances and spurred new perspectives on social equality and race.

— Becky Diamond - BookPage

A propulsive, edge-of-your-seat ride.
— Lauren Belfer, author of And After the Fire

Utterly electrifying prose.
— Martha Hodes, author of Mourning Lincoln

An extraordinary portrait of the event… great storytelling and painterly in its color and detail.
— Mark Goldman, author of High Hopes and City on the Edge