Finding Oz: How Frank L. Baum Discovered the Great American Story

by Evan I. Schwartz

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0547055102
• ISBN13: 9780547055107
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The author of stories "powerful enough to join together five generations and counting"

Frankly, although I have watched the film version of The Wizard of Oz dozens of times, I never gave much thought to its author. Then I saw a review of Evan Schwartz's book, Finding Oz, and its subtitle caught my eye: "How L. Frank Baum discovered the great American story." As I began to read this biography, I began to make all manner of connections between Baum's life and the themes in the two versions (i.e. print and cinematic) of one of the most popular books in American children's literature. For example, like Dorothy Gale but throughout much of his life, Baum struggled to find his own "Oz." Along the way, like Dorothy, he encountered all manner of obstacles and was frequently in harm's way. Also like Dorothy, he was not alone during his perilous journey, accompanied by his wife Maud and their four sons. Finally, with the immediate and profitable success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, he achieved the happiness and harmony that had eluded him for decades. As Schwartz explains in the Epilogue, "And so L. Frank Baum [at age 44] achieved true happiness, a state of bliss available to everyone in this life even thought only the lucky few ever reach it. Frank radiated his happiness for the rest of his days, creating concentric circles of joy, spreading from Maude and the boys, to his extended family, rippling through space and time, continuing for eternity. `Every one loved him, he loved every one, and he was therefore as happy as the day was long,' Frank wrote of the Tin Woodman." That was seldom the case in the preceding years as each of Baum's career moves failed, one after another. He was a chicken farmer, an actor, a seller of machinery lubricants, a purveyor of novelty goods, and a newspaper publisher. Despite all these setbacks, Baum continued to write constantly (e.g. plays, ad copy, newspaper articles) and then, finally, he experienced what he characterized as an "epiphany and he immediately took a pencil in hand and began to write his "great American story...[one] that really seemed to write itself"" on whatever paper he could find. As Baum goes on to observe, "It came to me right out of the blue. I think that sometimes the Great Author has a message to get across, and He has to use the instrument at hand. I happened to be the medium, and I believe the major key was given to me to open the doors to sympathy and understanding, joy, peace, and happiness." Schwartz seems almost as surprised as Baum was that such a profound work of fiction could thus be produced. Frankly, by the time I reached that point in Schwartz's narrative, I was rooting so hard for Baum that I had forgotten about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (except as a means to an end) because, for me, Baum's own life was the more compelling "great American story." While I was reading this book, these are a few of the passages that caught my eye: Maud's mother, Matilda Joslyn Gage, was one of the most prominent of the national leaders of the women's rights movement. "Mrs.

Fantastic!

Few works of the imagination spring up out of the clear blue, and the Wizard of Oz is no exception. L. Frank Baum's entire life led him, however circuitously, to the publishing and monumental success of his unforgettable work. This is the story of how "Oz" came to be. Or, as Evan Schwartz describes it, how Oz showed itself to be "the eternal circle of life's journey fused with the constant zigzag of the wandering soul." With seemingly mundane events that turn out to be laden with meaning for anyone touched by this story, Baum's tale is both inspiring and wondrous, just like Oz itself. Don't miss this story.

READ THIS WONDERFUL BOOK!

'Finding Oz' is intelligently written and engaging. Evan Schwartz weaves passages from Baum's novel in between his account of Baum's life and late 19th century America. There really was a yellow brick road...but heck, no more spoilers here. For Oz fans and anyone interested in what inspired this great American story, and everyone who has seen the movie, I highly recommend this enchanting book.

Amazing book took my appreciation of Oz to a new level!

Between the movie and the book, I've always been transported by "The Wizard of Oz." The imagery that L. Frank Baum created has always resonated with my imagination, but until reading "Finding Oz", I had never really thought about the life events that inspired Baum. This amazing book by Evan Schwartz reveals Baum's life and journey - the trials, events and people that planted the seed that germinated in Oz. The powerful setting of Oz comes from Baum's own travels - from his upbringing in upstate New York, through the oil fields of Pennsylvania to the dusty farmlands of Kansas to the gleaming White City of the 1898 Chicago World's Fair, Baum searched for his own personal success through a variety of careers, before finding within himself, his power as an author. Schwartz draws forth the traits of the famous and infamous newsmakers of Baum's time that come together in his characters. Can you guess who combines the power of Rockefeller, the genius of Edison and the razzle dazzle of P. T. Barnum? Finally, I loved the thoughtful discussion of the religious and philosophical underpinnings that created the geography of Oz as well as the traits and meaning of Dorothy's companions. This amazing book took my understanding and appreciation of Oz to a whole new level!

One of America's Best Loved Stories

Schwartz, Evan I. "Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story", Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. One of America's Best Loved Stories Amos Lassen "The Wizard of Oz" is one of those stories that all of us have come into contact with. The man who wrote the story, L. Frank Baum has won over hearts and the love of generations. Baum is the subject of this book but he shares the focus with his creation, the Land of Oz. The book deals with the question of how Baum found Oz and what went on in his life. Many agree that "The Wizard of Oz" is a parable of the American dream. Baum did not always have the luck that he found when he wrote the Oz stories. He had been unable to hold a job and almost lost everything before he found the yellow brick road. The Oz we read about or see in the movies is based upon people, places and things in Baum's own life. I understand that Chicago was the Emerald City during the time of the World's Fair in 1893 and his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, a radical advocate for women's rights, inspired both of the witches. This is the story of America in the 19th century and Schwartz tells it with a lot of charm and style. Most important is that this book shows how heartbreak, unhappiness and failure can lead to redemption and happiness. Baum showed us all how to behave like kids. Here is the history of America as seen through the eyes of Baum.