Robert W. Rydell contends that America's early world's fairs actually served to legitimate racial exploitation at home and the creation of an empire abroad. He looks in particular to the "ethnological" displays of nonwhites-set up by showmen but endorsed by prominent anthropologists-which lent scientific credibility to popular racial attitudes and helped build public support for domestic and foreign policies. Rydell's lively and thought-provoking study draws on archival records, newspaper and magazine articles, guidebooks, popular novels, and oral histories.
- ISBN10 0226732401
- ISBN13 9780226732404
- Publish Date 15 October 1987 (first published 1 May 1985)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Chicago Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 338
- Language English
- URL http://wiley.com/remtitle.cgi?isbn=9780226732404