Customer Reviews

Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an avid Wizard of Oz fan for almost 20 years now, I've read just about every book about the making of the movie. I was beginning to feel that there was nothing more for me to learn about this movie, until I read this book. Mr. Raabe's book gives a very interesting, fresh perspective about making the film, or at least the Munchkinland sequences. His writing style is conversational, so you feel as though he's sitting right there telling you all about what it was like to be on the beautiful Munchkinland set (describing details that I had missed in my many viewings of the movie), what it was like to meet Judy Garland, and other behind-the-scenes tid-bits. His Munchkin Coroner career aside, Mr. Raabe has had a fascinating life as the original Little Oscar mascot for Oscar Mayer, and as a flight instructor for the Civil Air Patrol. In addition, there are many photos from the making of the film, which I have never seen before, as well as original art that was commisioned for this book and shows many different artists' interpretations of Oz and Munchkinland. I very highly recommend this book for any Oz fan!

Our family met Meinhardt Raabe when our daughter was born with dwarfism 24 years ago. Meinhardt is an incredible person, and he speaks from his heart, in his daily life, as well as in this book, Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road. He speaks openly and shares his life and experiences with you as if you were sitting down right next to him. You can't help but notice his genuine caring and sincerity coming through every page as he speaks candidly of his lifetime experiences. Our family highly recommends you buy this book. It will be a family treasure for many years to come.

This book is a must-have for all Oz fans! You get a Munchkin's eye view of the filming of The Wizard of Oz. Memories of a Munchkin is jam-packed with rare photographs. It's like a feast for the eyes.

You'll come away with a new-found respect for the always charming Meinhardt Raabe. With only 9 of the original 124 Munchkins still alive, this book is a treasure. I've talked to Meinhardt in person several times and he's always so sweet. After reading this book, you'll feel as though you've met him too!

Memories of a Munchkin is full of little known trivia and fascinating tid-bids, sure to please even the most casual Oz viewer.

If you only buy 1 book this year, make it Memories of a Munchkin!

Hats off to Meinhardt Raabe for such an Oz-some book!

This book is a must have for any die hard(like me) fan of the 1939 film THE WIZARD OF OZ. It is brimming with never before seen pictures of the movie set, munchkins, scene direction...not to mention other movie stars of the day & lots of Judy Garland!
Meinhardt's story is both intersting & compelling, he's a sweetheart!
Don't miss out...buy this book TODAY!

I think of myself as a big Oz/Judy Garland fan and I think this is the best book ever written about the Munchkins. I thought I had seen every behind the scene still but I was wrong. There are many in this book that are from Mr. Raabe's collection that are new to me. I'm so happy that someone that was actually there during the making of The Wizard of Oz wrote such a complete book. I enjoyed it immensely. I would tell anyone who likes The Wizard of Oz to make sure this book is part of your collection. Thanks Mr. Raabe!

This book surpassed all my expectations.

A classy, large-format layout, nicely-designed, and loaded with illustrations.

You get the memoir of the Munchkin Coroner, Raabe, which provides a lot of making-of perspectives and the tale of someone who was a regular inhabitant of such show biz oddities as "Midget Villages" early in his life.

Additionally, a whole boat of notable 20th century artists are on board to celebrate and riff on the image of a Munchkin Coroner. This, in itself, is worth the price of admission. Hirschfeld, Frazetta, Aragones, Jack Davis, Drew Stuzan, Drew Freidman, Aragones, Severin, et al. My personal favorites are a photo-realist and highly commercial image of Garland by Stuzan that really captures the essence of her in the role and a kicky EC Comics parody by one Don Perlin.

It is just a big, goofy celebration of the fact that this film has burned itself into the collective conciousness of the 20th century.

The book has really nice pictures in it but the story is only okay. If you love Wizard of Oz though you will love all the pictures he has in there. It is written by the Coroner munchkin.

My sister was a drama major in college and has been extremely involved in theater for many years. I live at Penney Retirement Community where Meinhardt Raabe lives, so my sister has had a chance to meet him and have a short visit with him. Each time he appears at some Wizard of Oz function and gets his picture in the paper in this area, I cut it out for her. She has quite a collection by now. I purchased the book for my sister's birthday, and Meinhardt signed it. I wrote the dedication, as he is not able to write more than his name at this point. But he was very happy to sign it for her. She received it and was thrilled! The book arrived in excellent condition and in a timely manner. Thank you so much.

Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road The book came in a timely manner and in great shape. I have a personal interest in this book and am researching all I can about Meinhardt Raabe. I recently found out I am a relative of Meinhardt Raabe. My mother, who has met him only once, is a second cousin to him. She met and spoke to him after singing in the church choir one Sunday morning around 1946 when she was 15 years old. Supposedly Meinhardt lived only a half mile up the road from my grandparents farm. I am truly amazed at what an active and adventurous life he experienced. Taking full advantage of his short stature. When Mienhardt passes, he will be buried next to his wife in the same cemetery as many of my relatives. I wish I had known about him sooner because I used to drive to Florida, where he lives in a retirement community, and could have stopped in to meet him but now I fly only to South Florida and it would take an eight hour trip by car to visit him at Penney Farms. So I need to make special plans in order to meet him for he is now 94 yrs. old.

Thanks,
Randall Buchta

This is the second purchase for this item. The Second seller had the item. The book is in collector quality. (In our humble opinion).