The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Modern Library Classics) [Paperback]

L. Frank Baum (Author), Ray Bradbury (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library Classics | Publication Date: December 9, 2003

L. Frank Baum’s timeless classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first uniquely American fairy tale. A combination of enchanting fantasy and piercing social commentary, this remarkable story has entertained and beguiled readers of all ages since it was first published in 1900. Ray Bradbury writes in his Introduction, “Both [Baum and Shakespeare] lived inside their heads with a mind gone wild with wanting, wishing, hoping, shaping, dreaming,” and it is this same hunger that makes all of us continue to seek out the story of Oz—and be nourished by it.
This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the definitive first edition and includes the New York Times review of that edition as well as the original Preface by the author.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Baum was a true educator, and those who read his Oz books are often made what they were not—imaginative,
tolerant, alert to wonders, life.”—Gore Vidal

From the Inside Flap

L. Frank Baum?s timeless classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the ?rst uniquely American fairy tale. A combination of enchanting fantasy and piercing social commentary, this remarkable story has entertained and beguiled readers of all ages since it was ?rst published in 1900. Ray Bradbury writes in his Introduction, ?Both [Baum and Shakespeare] lived inside their heads with a mind gone wild with wanting, wishing, hoping, shaping, dreaming,? and it is this same hunger that makes all of us continue to seek out the story of Oz?and be nourished by it.
This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the de?nitive ?rst edition and includes the New York Times review of that edition as well as the original Preface by the author.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; 1 edition (December 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081297011X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812970111
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the Wizard of Oz: A Simple Edition, May 25, 2004

By 

Sam A. Milazzo (Sydney, N.S.W Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

Once again I, Sam Milazzo, have seen this book in a store, looked through it and am now sharing my thoughts and description of this book onto the internet for ALL to see and know . . . .
This edition is - as you know, paperback with a real tornadop on the cover and a farmhouse just nearby. this editon has the illustrations of W. W. Denslow, but the only pcitures they include are the Chapter Title pictures and the (colour) plates that are in those chapters, however, the pictures are in a "photocopied" mode, with the colours in grey - light & dark. Before the story begins there is a copy of Ray Bradbury's "Because, Because, Because, Because of the Wonderful things He Does" Essay on L. Frank baum and Lewis Carroll, on their writings of Oz and Alice, comparing the differences and how Wonderland is what we ARE and Oz is what we WANT and HOPE to be - this already appeared in the "Centennial Edition" with William Stout's illustration of MGM Glinda in the "O". At the end of the book, are a series of questions, helping you realise the depths of the story - but these questions are not the same Qu's from the "Aladdin" edition (where a girl that passes for Dorothy in a brown photo is the cover) - these are new questions. Check if any of the book stores near you have this edition, look through it and choose for yourself whether you want this or not. It's not as good as the other editions, but it is better than the "Aladdin" editon, which has NO PICTURES - I have that edition.