The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City

Spectacle and Assassination at the 1901 World's Fair

By: Margaret Creighton

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

In 1901, Buffalo, New York, the eighth biggest city in America, wanted to launch the new century with the Pan American Exposition. It would showcase the Western hemisphere and bring millions of people to Western New York. With Niagara Falls as a drawing card, and with stunning colors and electric lights, promoters believed it would be bigger, better, and - literally - more brilliant than Chicago's White City of 1893.

Weaving together narratives of both notorious and forgotten figures, Margaret Creighton unveils the fair's big tragedy and its lesser-known scandals. From a deranged laborer who stalked and shot President William McKinley to a 60-year-old woman who rode a barrel over Niagara Falls to two astonishing acts - a little person and an elephant - who turned the tables on their duplicitous manager, Creighton reveals the myriad power struggles that would personify modern America. The Buffalo fair announced the new century, but in ways nobody expected.

©2016 Margaret Creighton (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Buffalo history was great

The historical recap was very interesting. However, it provided too much gruesome details that I could have done without. I would suggest reading the book yourself as the narrator was dull and you would be better off listening to Alexa than them.

I Think Candice Millard Got There First

While a very solid book in may ways the book is similar to Candice Millards book "The Assassin and the President". Note this book goes into much greater detail about the PanAmerican Fair but when it came to the info on the assassination it felt like a re-read of the Millard effort. With that said it was still a very interesting and entertaining book and I would recommend it; especially if you have not read The President and the Assassin.

listen at 1.5 speed

Any additional comments?

Awesome book - content was great and on the money but the narrator is so slow and monotone - I listened at 1.5 speed just to make it bearable. Buy the book and read it - skip this narration!

Margaret Creighton is a wicked good storyteller

Any additional comments?

I can hardly express how much I enjoyed "The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City" ... Margaret Creighton is a wicked good storyteller ... the book read more like a mystery making it hard to turn off ... the main characters were enthralling and the villain was a rotten bastard ... the reader, Callie Beaulieu, was very good - she made it an enjoyable listen ... what a great book!

Horrible Book and Narrator

I found myself having to skip through the book over and over because it kept dwelling on horrible animal abuse stories. This book should come with a warning on it. There may have been a few redeeming spots of the book, but the narrator is so awful that it is impossible to separate her voice from what she is reading. I was sure this was an AI narration because it is the most flat monotonous voice I have ever heard. The inflections and emphasis of words are all wrong as are many pronunciations. What a dismal book to listen to.