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Finding Oz : how L. Frank Baum discovered the great American story / Evan I. Schwartz.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.Description: 374 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 0547055102
  • 9780547055107
Subject(s):
Contents:
Prologue: America's adventure -- No place like home -- An unexpected journey -- A girl in a man's world -- Heart of a tin man -- Roadblock -- The mythic oilcan -- Witch-hunting -- Frontier of hope and fear -- The story store -- The brainless and the heartless -- Field of blood -- The golden path -- The glimmering city -- The wizard's challenge -- The witch is dead -- This one story -- Home again -- Epilogue: a great awakening.
Summary: The remarkable story behind one of the world's most enduring and best-loved books. Offering new insights into the true origins and meaning of L. Frank Baum's 1900 masterwork, author Schwartz delves into the personal turmoil and spiritual transformation that fueled Baum's fantastical parable of the American Dream. Before becoming an impresario of children's adventure tales, Baum failed at a series of careers and nearly lost his soul before setting out on a journey of discovery that would lead to the Land of Oz. Drawing on original research, Schwartz debunks popular misconceptions and shows how the people, places, and events in Baum's life gave birth to his unforgettable images and characters. A narrative that sweeps across late-nineteenth-century America, Finding Oz ultimately reveals how failure and heartbreak can sometimes lead to redemption and bliss, and how one individual can ignite the imagination of the entire world.--From publisher description.
Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 813.4 S399 Available 33111005674607
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A groundbreaking new look at an American icon, The Wizard of Oz.

Finding Oz tells the remarkable tale behind one of the world's most enduring and best loved stories. Offering profound new insights into the true origins and meaning of L. Frank Baum's 1900 masterwork, it delves into the personal turmoil and spiritual transformation that fueled Baum's fantastical parable of the American Dream.

Prior to becoming an impresario of children's adventure tales--the J. K. Rowling of his age--Baum failed at a series of careers and nearly lost his soul before setting out on a journey of discovery that would lead to the Land of Oz. Drawing on original research, Evan Schwartz debunks popular misconceptions and shows how the people, places, and events in Baum's life gave birth to his unforgettable images and characters. The Yellow Brick Road was real, the Emerald City evoked the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and Baum's mother-in-law, the radical women's rights leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, inspired his dual view of witches--as good and wicked.

A narrative that sweeps across late nineteenth-century America, Finding Oz ultimately reveals how failure and heartbreak can sometimes lead to redemption and bliss, and how one individual can ignite the imagination of the entire world.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [322]-355) and index.

Prologue: America's adventure -- No place like home -- An unexpected journey -- A girl in a man's world -- Heart of a tin man -- Roadblock -- The mythic oilcan -- Witch-hunting -- Frontier of hope and fear -- The story store -- The brainless and the heartless -- Field of blood -- The golden path -- The glimmering city -- The wizard's challenge -- The witch is dead -- This one story -- Home again -- Epilogue: a great awakening.

The remarkable story behind one of the world's most enduring and best-loved books. Offering new insights into the true origins and meaning of L. Frank Baum's 1900 masterwork, author Schwartz delves into the personal turmoil and spiritual transformation that fueled Baum's fantastical parable of the American Dream. Before becoming an impresario of children's adventure tales, Baum failed at a series of careers and nearly lost his soul before setting out on a journey of discovery that would lead to the Land of Oz. Drawing on original research, Schwartz debunks popular misconceptions and shows how the people, places, and events in Baum's life gave birth to his unforgettable images and characters. A narrative that sweeps across late-nineteenth-century America, Finding Oz ultimately reveals how failure and heartbreak can sometimes lead to redemption and bliss, and how one individual can ignite the imagination of the entire world.--From publisher description.

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