Praise for The San Diego World’s Fairs and Southwestern Memory, 1880-1940 (University of New Mexico Press, 2005).
Finalist, San Diego Book Awards Association – 2005- Published History Books
“Bokovoy’s book is groundbreaking. It does not seek to sell San Diego to tourists, but to examine how we first began to sell ourselves to tourists, and what our contradictory myths of origin mean. It is a story for a mature city that can look to its history for a deeper understanding of local identity.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune
“This trip to San Diego’s fairs should not be missed by US cultural historians, western historians, borderlands historians, or fans of Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City.” — American Historical Review
“In the Panama-California Exposition, history presented as a unifying myth was created and celebrated, whereas for the later California-Pacific International Exposition, the myth was now celebrated as history. The road to this inversion is simply fascinating.” — The Public Historian
“Matthew Bokovoy’s premise is simple and intriguing….lucidly written, nicely illustrated, and fairly argued.” — Journal of American History
“There is plenty in the book to intrigue us, especially the architectural elements of the fairs’ programs.” — The Santa Fe New Mexican
“The San Diego World’s Fairs is a fascinating examination of the role the fairs played in the development of California’s ‘culture of abundance’ . . . eminently readable.” — Journal of the West
“. . . intriguing . . . worthwhile and engaging reading for a wide set of California and southwest historians, scholars of culture, and those interested in the workings of memory.” — Southern California Quarterly
“A lively exploration of the social significance of the fairs, as well as the cultural machinations of its participants….excellent insights into the way the fairs combined Spanish, Mexican, Indian, and Anglo heritages under a single Progressive banner.” — CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship
“Thought-provoking and engaging in its prose, this book will not disappoint.” — H-Net Book Review
Matt Bokovoy 