The Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which celebrated Tennessee's 100th year of statehood, opened May 1, 1897, at Nashville's Centennial Park and enjoyed tremendous success during its six-month run. Citizens from all over Tennessee--and the nation--honored the state's history by sponsoring exhibits at the event, and thousands of visitors flocked to the fairgrounds each day to experience the excitement it offered. In this fascinating collection of over 200 images combined with informative, well-researched text, author Bobby Lawrence takes us on a journey into the past to relive the optimism and wonders of another time. Take a relaxing gondola ride on one of the park's four lakes or stroll the 200-acre grounds and visit a variety of buildings and exhibits featuring everything from ancient artifacts to scientific inventions, from on-site farms to international restaurants, from the thrilling Vanity Fair, a midway attraction comparable to today's amusement parks, to one of the first large displays of electric lights.

Derived from first-hand accounts and oral histories collected and stored at Vanderbilt University as well as newspapers and other local history sources, this collection is an invaluable look at the “Gay Nineties” in Nashvillians’ own words. It is, however, not a complete insight into Nashville in the 1890s. Readers should take note that the book focuses almost exclusively on the experiences and worldviews of white Nashvillians. These stories have incredible value for local historians and anyone interested in Nashville history, but the book’s failure to deal with race—as evidenced by Waller’s belief that “the social order was thought to be providential,” which was clearly not true for Nashville’s Black residents who struggled against the unjust systems designed to oppress them—is a grave shortcoming.