{"product_id":"centennial-isbn-9780593803363","title":"Centennial","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe spectacular story of the Great Centennial Exhibition of 1876—held in the shadow of a highly contested presidential election that triggered the collapse of Reconstruction and laid the foundations of the Republican Party we know today\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Those who were there felt that the wheel of history itself had turned before their eyes.” \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHeld at Fairmount Park, in Philadelphia, the extravaganza attracted 10 million Americans—nearly 20 percent of the population, among them the likes of P. T. Barnum, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain—and visitors from around the world, including the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro (who couldn’t get enough of the exhibition). On display were inventions that signaled the changing landscape of American life, from the typewriter to the telephone to Heinz Tomato Ketchup. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis celebration of America’s past 100 years came at a moment when its future seemed more precarious than ever—as big money infiltrated government, Black Americans struggled to exercise their hard-won freedom, underpaid workers waged the first national labor strike, feminists demanded rights for women, and Native tribes went to war to repel the advancing settlement in the West. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this engrossing, kaleidoscopic history, Fergus Bordewich brings the reader down onto the fairgrounds, animating these converging crises through the lives of four protagonists—Rutherford B. Hayes, Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and sculptor Edmonia Lewis. \u003ci\u003eCentennial \u003c\/i\u003ereveals a country in metamorphosis, still striving to live up to the promise of its founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the twentieth century.“As exuberant and immersive as the U. S. centennial itself, Fergus Bordewich’s bracing narrative envelops us in the optimism, patriotic fervor, overweening pride, and limitless ambition of 1876 America. With reunion and peace, the country celebrated itself with inventive abandon, sometimes forsaking its democratic roots. Fergus Bordewich brings his customary, irresistible blend of rich period detail and expert retrospective analysis to a story that should give us both pleasure and pause as we mark America250. A rich and rewarding read.” \u003cb\u003e—Harold Holzer, Winner of the Lincoln Prize and author of \u003ci\u003eBrought Forth on This Continent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“In 1876 the USA threw a spectacular 100th birthday party for itself—the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia—and Fergus Bordewich is our astute guide and witty companion for an immersive tour. Bursting with delicious details and deft portraits, \u003ci\u003eCentennial \u003c\/i\u003eintroduces us to the industrial titans, genius tech inventors, political strivers, artists, poseurs and protestors who made the fair an international sensation. Bordewich excels in charting the political and racial turbulence just below the glossy surface, and drills deep into the layers of pride and patriotism, hope and hubris animating the whole enterprise. As the nation marks its 250th birthday in 2026, unfolding in another fraught political moment, \u003ci\u003eCentennial\u003c\/i\u003e reminds us to pay attention to how this milestone is celebrated, how our history is portrayed and our future imagined. Beyond the hoopla and fireworks will be a reflection of our national character.” \u003cb\u003e—Elaine Weiss, author of \u003ci\u003eSpell Freedom \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Woman’s Hour\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Bordewich’s \u003ci\u003eCentennial\u003c\/i\u003e immerses us in the wondrous Philadelphia exposition of 1876 with all its patriotic fervor, dynamic displays of industrial might, amazing inventions (the proto-telephone), silly gadgets (the combo suitcase\/bathtub), and ambitious art. Outside the fair, the intense societal battles to shape this ascendant Gilded Age America feel at times eerily familiar: electoral convulsions amidst a 'rancorous political climate,' an 'odious oligarchy with its plutocratic privilege,' and rising White Supremacy targeting Blacks and immigrants. And yet . . . the nation’s most democratic ideals are there, too, as America barrels towards the twentieth century.” \u003cb\u003e—Jill Jonnes, author of \u003ci\u003eEmpires of Light\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With this piercing history of the 1876 Centennial, Fergus Bordewich illustrates the genesis of American exceptionalism and creates a cautionary parable for the Age of Trump. Every chapter dramatizes the gaps between our leaders’ self-congratulatory claims and their flawed, corrupt performance throughout our history.” \u003cb\u003e—Howell Raines, author of \u003ci\u003eSilent Cavalry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eFERGUS M. BORDEWICH is the author of nine previous nonfiction books, including \u003ci\u003eKlan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction; The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government\u003c\/i\u003e (winner of the 2019 D. B. Hardeman Prize in American History); \u003ci\u003eAmerica’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union\u003c\/i\u003e (named best history book of 2012 by the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e); and \u003ci\u003eBound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Jean Parvin Bordewich, who advises philanthropies on democratic governance.","brand":"Knopf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233020522725,"sku":"NP9780593803363","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593803363.jpg?v=1767723531","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/centennial-isbn-9780593803363","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}