From the author, a careful history, beginning in the 1850s, of World's Fairs. She describes their ideological, commercial, and entertainment underpinnings, the fairs' influence on culture over time, and an argument for continuing them . We learn that the author's mother-in-law and longtime member of the Winnetka Fortnightly had been a contestant in the Chicago Tribune contest to choose a Queen and her Maids of the Court of Honor for the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair held on Chicago's Lakefront. Her mother-in-law participated in the Court of Honor and the author describes that experience.