The World’s Fairs, held since 1851, were spectacular gestures which briefly held the world’s attention before disappearing. Millions of visitors strolled through the sites, urban centres were re-planned to accommodate them, national economies were damaged, fortunes made and international hostilities postponed. In Paul Greenhalgh’s beautifully illustrated book some forty expositions are dealt with in detail and many more are described. From America, Britain and France – key countries in forming the exhibition tradition – to Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Montreal, Moscow, Osaka, Shanghai, Vienna and Turin. Fair World enlightens the reader on the world fairs’ key periods in history including the belle epoch between 1875 and 1915 – the golden age of exhibitions where over fifty major expos were held – and the age of ‘Futuropolis’ from 1925 to 1970.