The Complete Oz: Volume 2 [Paperback]

L. Frank Baum (Author)

Book Description

The second of two volumes comprising L. Frank Baum's complete series of Oz books. The stories included in this collection are the rare "Little Wizard Stories of Oz", "Tik-Tok of Oz", "The Scarecrow of Oz", "Rinkitink in Oz", "The Lost Princess of Oz", "The Tin Woodman of Oz", "The Magic of Oz" and "Glinda of Oz", all published between the years 1914-1920. Volume 1, the companion volume to this compilation, includes "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", "The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz", "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz", "The Road to Oz", "The Emerald City of Oz", and "The Patchwork Girl of Oz". The "Little Wizard Stories of Oz", seldom published anywhere, marked the break between the first and second set of tales, which Baum wrote during the years 1914-1920. The self-proclaimed Royal Historian of Oz, Baum was succeeded by others who assumed the title, resulting in a Canon of some 40 Oz titles, proper. Dozens of other Oz books have been written, in various languages around the world..

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) is the author of 69 children's books, including the popular 14 titles of the Oz series. He was born Lyman Frank Baum on May 15, 1856 near Syracause, New York. He had a privileged, if isolated childhood, due to wealthy parents and a congenitally weak heart. Instructed by a seroes of tutors, he spent a great deal of time in his oilman father's library, voraciously reading. As a young man, Baum returned home after a brief stint at a military academy, there to indulge his tastes in writing, stamp collecting and raising chickens. He grew up a man of great charm and many interests, but very little direction. At various times in his career, he ran was a reporter, an actor, theatre manager and playwright. One of his productions became a hit, and he traveled with its touring company throughout the U.S. and Canada during the 1880s. Returning home on a break in the schedule, Baum met Maud Gage, whom he married in November 1882. She provided him with the stability and common sense he lecked, as well as the discipline their children would require. When Maud was pregnant with their first child, all his play's scenery, props and costumes were destroyed by fire. He returned home to work in the family's oil business, all the while writing a succession of plays that were never produced. In the late 1880's, Baum moved his wife and two sons to the Dakota territory, where he worked as a shopkeeper and a newspaper editor. In spite of his enjoyment of them, both positions failed him financially. By 1891, he and Maud had four sons, and the family moved for a better life to Chicago. First a newspaper reporter, Baum soon took a better paying job as a traveling crockery salesman. At the advice of his mother-in-law, he began to write down some of the stories he made up to tell his sons in the evening. One of these tales, Mother Goose in Prose, was published to moderate success in 1897. Baum quit the road and became the editor of a journal for window-dressers. In 1899, he teamed with artist W.W. Denslow, and in 1899 published the follow-up "Father Goose, His Book", which became a best seller. In 1900, one of the five children's books he published with illustrations again by Denslow, was "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The other 13 volumes followed in quick succession, intermingled with lesser works which eventually prompted Baum to reopen Oz, after declaring it closed midway through the series. He died in 1919, amid both failing health and a dwindling fortune.

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438214693
• ISBN-13: 978-1438214696
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful book, December 30, 2008

By 

Uri - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Oz, Vol. 2 (Volume 2) (Paperback)

This is volume 2 of the "The Complete Oz" series. It is a large, easy to read edition, perfect for any fan of the Oz series. Another reviewer commented that this edition is not complete - they are absolutely wrong. I have both volumes of the set and it is complete and a worthwhile puchase. My 11 year old daughter loves it!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silly publishing errors, November 23, 2009

By 

Matthew Huxtable (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Oz: Volume 2 (Paperback)

I understand that Baum's Oz stories are now out of copyright and that this book was compiled by these freely available stories. I apologise if I'm wrong. But this would take into account the somewhat shoddy layout that this and Volume 2 possess.
Lines of text will inexplicably break into two paragraphs. Inverted commas are in the wrong places. Capital letters of names come and go. While it does no harm in the reading of such lovely tales (my first time and enjoying them immensely), these grammatical and printing errors do jar a smooth reading. Punctuation and the like should be invisible to the reader and, at times, I can't help wishing that the publishers had taken just a little bit more effort and its production.
Also, two columns would have made this so much easier to read, both for the eye and for ease in reading.
It should be noted that these annoyances can't ruin a good tale, and the Oz books are good tales, so points lost only for the publication, not for the content.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice enough, but not what I expected, March 10, 2009

By 

Thomas Cox "simple country bibliophile" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Oz, Vol. 2 (Volume 2) (Paperback)

There are two books with the same title. One by Trilogus Books (gold cover), and one from Seven Treasures Publications (green cover). The reviews are mixed together. I bought the one from Seven Treasures, and it only contains three Oz novels. It's OK, but there are no illustrations, and there will have to be at least volumes three and four to finish the set.