Melton A. McLaurin is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. For many years, Paul Blankinship has conducted research and assembled a variety of materials on the history of the North Carolina State Fair and fairgrounds. His resulting collection has culminated in an annual exhibit, titled History of the North Carolina State Fair and is on view each year in the one-room schoolhouse located in the Heritage Circle area of the fairgrounds.

With an annual attendance of 800,000, the North Carolina State Fair is the state's largest event and is the largest ten-day agricultural fair in the United States. Published jointly with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, this volume is the most comprehensive account of the people, politics, and events that have shaped the annual autumn event. Over three hundred photographs, many in full color, vividly portray the fair's history.