This study offers an engaging reassessment of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (the Columbian Exposition), generally regarded as the preeminent civic pageant in Victorian America. Based on exhaustive research, Downey uses the Exposition as a representative cultural symbol to challenge established interpretations of the event and to suggest a new approach to writing American cultural history. Adopting the approach of culture as conversation, he stresses the manner in which the Chicago fair reflected the main currents and conflicting tendencies in American life at the end of the 19th century.

Viewing the Exposition as a cultural moment, Downey emphasizes the theme of renewal as central to the cultural aspirations of the enterprise and its engagement of public life. Throughout the narrative, the divergent voices that comprised a great cultural conversation on the salient issues of the day emerge through their presence at, and participation in, the Exposition. This lively account offers new insights into the cultural climate of the period, while introducing readers to the sheer majesty and splendor of an event that captivated the city and the nation more than a century ago.