Product Description
The summer of 1939 was an epic turning point for America—a brief window between the Great Depression and World War II. It was the last season of unbridled hope for peace and prosperity; by Labor Day, the Nazis were in Poland. And nothing would come to symbolize this transformation from acute optimism to fear and dread more than the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
A glorious vision of the future, the Fair introduced television, the fax machine, nylon, and flu… More >>
 |
ROYAL COPENHAGEN DENMARK 1974 "WINTER TWILIGHT" KAI LANG PORCELAIN PLATE US $9.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:43:28 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
Twilight (DVD, 1998, Widescreen) US $10.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:43:36 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
TWILIGHT GOLD Sango China 1 Teacup CUP .10 US $5.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:44:41 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
China Glaze Nail Polish TWILIGHT #70 US $6.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:44:47 PST | Watch this Item |
 |
Twilight Wrist Watch US $30.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:44:54 PST | Watch this Item |
Comments (5) »
Okay, so it wasn’t as if the Fair were a ghost town….but it came pretty close.
Imagine the country is in the throes of the great depression, a maniacal dictator is gobbling up territory in Europe, war iss inevitable, and to top it off someone plants a bomb at a major exhibit…….what a great time to celebrate?!?!?
If this were a fictional tale, most readers would scoff at the events in “Twilight at the world of Tomorrow..” as unrealistic.
“Twilight at the World of Tomorrow” reads like a fiction novel, at times you get caught up in the story and forget that you are reading actual events. So much is packed into the book that with every turn of the page you learn something new, and Mauro does a great job of keeping his tale focused and easy to follow.
The story within the major framework of two police officers who sacrifice their lives in order to save hundreds is worth the price of the book alone. What I enjoyed most about “Twilight at the World of Tomorrow” is that it’s a glimpse into that gray area of American History that falls between the Great Depression and World War II.
Rating: 4 / 5
I really enjoyed reading this book! Mauro is a former magazine writer, so he definitely knows how to write comfortably for the public.
Twilight is the story of the 1939 New York World’s Fair, or “World of Tomorrow.” It had humble beginnings with two down-on-their-luck people coming up with the idea, and then taking it to those who not only supported the World’s Fair concept, but ran with it and saw it to completion. The hero of the story is Grover Whalen, a great New York dandy who was compared to PT Barnum for his showmanship (he pretty much created New York City’s famous ticker tape parades). Whalen, a spendthrift, fought hard to get the vision of World of Tomorrow to be executed, dealing with such greats as Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Moses to push his passion through all sorts of barriers. It’s a fascinating ride that Mauro takes us on.
At the heart of the story is how the World’s Fair was promoting peace just as the world was on the brink of war. Germany was threatening, and then took over, huge swaths of Europe during the course of the Fair’s development and execution, and a number of pavilions were closed or memories of countries which technically no longer existed by the time the second season opened. New York City was also at the brink of war, in a way. Bomb scares were too common, and passion against the Bund ran extremely high. In fact, a bomb went off during the second season of the Fair, killing two detectives, and maiming several others. One of those detectives, Detective Lynch, is a secondary story in this book.
Another secondary story is that of Albert Einstein, featured on the cover (and memorialized on the original title of the book). Einstein participated on the first day of the Fair, and later dedicated the Palestine Pavilion. Mauro also uses Einstein to as a foil of peace vs. war, with the peace-loving Einstein asking the FDR administration to begin researching atomic bombs in order to beat the Germans at the same task.
To be honest, the Lynch and Einstein stories only distracted from the book. Einstein’s participation could have been limited to what he actually did at the Fair, and Lynch’s story, weaved on occasion throughout, could have been limited to the chapter on the bomb.
Whalen comes out as the tragic hero in this tale, and it’s a fascinating story.
This book is a definite recommendation to anyone who loves to learn about New York City history.
Rating: 4 / 5
This reads like a novel, but all the events in it are true.
In 1939 New York built a World’s Fair on the top of a 1,200-acre reclaimed garbage dump in Flushing, close to the present-day site of Laguardia airport. The event was supposed to make huge amounts of money for the City, and projections were made of millions and millions of people attending. The process of creation was overseen by several people, but eventually the guy in charge was Grover Whalen, a self-serving publicity man who pushed the idea of pavilions to foreign governments starting, surprisingly, with Russia; eventually, there would be sixty foreign pavilions.
But not only did the shadow of the depression fall over the Fair – people complained about the 75-cent admission fee – but also the rise to war in Europe. In the second season (1940) many of the countries exhibiting were occupied by the German Army, but they continued their exhibits as though they were still independent. Although Grover Whalen threw his all into getting publicity for the fair, people still didn’t come in the numbers hoped for, and in 1940 he was replaced by Harvey Gibson, a banker. Unfortunately for investors, Gibson fared no better.
Intertwined with the story of the Fair itself is the story of two detectives of the NY Police Bomb squad. Joe Lynch and Freddie Socha were investigating a bomb found inside the British Pavilion in 1940, which had been carried out to some open ground. The bomb went off and killed them both. It was estimated that had the bomb gone off inside the pavilion, hundreds of visitors might have been killed. The people who planted the bomb were never found.
James Mauro is a very skilled writer. The book fairly leaps along, and you’ll find it difficult to tear yourself away. Mix in Einstein, FDR, girly shows, and an escaping steer, along with totally non-cooperative weather, and you have a great account with little missed out. Because the Fair ended in debt, it has missed its place in the sun, but the 1964 World’s Fair also ended in bankruptcy.
You won’t be dissatisfied with this book. It’s not just a number of historical facts, it a very good guess as to what was going through the minds of the participants. Recommended.
Rating: 4 / 5
The title of this has been changed from the pre-publication review copy I read, so perhaps other editing has been done as well. My version was entitled Einstein at the World’s Fair, but I think the change of title bodes well, because Einstein’s story was actually a minor part of the book as a whole.
The story of the idealistic World of Tomorrow World’s Fair that was built in Queens New York on a garbage dump at the tail end of the Great Depression and that overlapped with the start of World War 2 in Europe is quite an interesting story. But Munro brings in so many side plots at the beginning of the story that it bogs down. Once he finally gets to the Fair, the story is well-told. I was surprised that little attention was paid to the fact that the Depression was still on-going at the time the fair began.
One intriguing fact is that a bomb went off and killed two police detectives who were trying to defuse it, and the case has never been solved. The bomb was left in the British Pavilion, but no details as to motive were determined.
The emphasis on Einstein in the book seems misplaced. Yes, Einstein pulled the switch to illuminate the opening of the Fair (and a circuit blew and the whole place went dark.) And yes, he spoke at the Palestine Pavilion. But the story of Einstein’s move from total pacificism to advocate for the atomic bomb, and his regret when that bomb (which he had little to do with, since he was not considered a trustworthy American) was used on Japan (and not Germany) and that the Germans never made the bomb he thought they were working on–that story has little to do with the World’s Fair story.
I greatly enjoyed The Devil in the White City, the story of the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago, which intertwined the story of a serial killer with the details of an earlier World’s Fair. But this one suffers by comparison. The writing and editing is not as tight and the suspense just isn’t there. Still, an interesting story and if you attended the 1964 World’s Fair, or live in New York, or are an Einstein fan, this book would make good reading.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is one of those rare books that really brings history alive. If I did teach history, this would be required reading!
As expected, you learn about the inner workings of the New York World’s Fair, and about the exhibits. It is truly amazing to read about attractions that absolutely directly influenced (a.k.a. “copied”) Disney World, especially Epcot Center. If only I could go back in time to enjoy the original attractions at the world’s fair … but alas, the book also paints an effective world-wide portait, and how perhaps the fair’s greatest exhibit was the holistic world view that could be gleaned by seeing the different national pavillions (which also sounds a bit familiar … Epcot, anyone?). The narrative interweaves politics, finances, New York, the depression, big business, terrorism (yes, New York seemed to be in much more of a terrified state than any other time except for 9/11), and American inginuity into an overall satisfying read.
In summary, if you love amusement parks (Disney World, etc), and world history, do not hesitate to pick up a copy of this book and enjoy!
Rating: 5 / 5