In the first major literary biography of L. Frank Baum, Rebecca Loncraine tells the story of Oz as you've never heard it, with a look behind the cu...
read full description
reviews
Oct 07, 2009
Carmine
rated it: 
I am really struggling to get through this one. Lately I have had a rash of bad biographies. I loath biographers who either conjecture too much, insert themselves into the bio, or try to create meaning and connection where it may or may not have existed. Frank Baum's house at age 12 was next to a road paved with wood planks...it was poplar..poplar is yellowish when fresh cut....it must be the yellow brick road! (except the road had already been there for decaded before Baum and probably would ha
More...
Dec 03, 2010
Chris
rated it: 
More times than life, Loncraine's biography of L. Frank Baum is limited by the amount of information on his daily life. She is often reduced to supposition, claiming that he "would" have done this or seen that when there is apparently no record to confirm that he did. His creativity, his social conscience, and his poor business sense survive in the public record, but there doesn't seem to be much reliable record of his private life.
What Loncraine does well, however, is depict More...
What Loncraine does well, however, is depict More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 13, 2010
Jeremy
rated it:
This is a mostly interesting, comprehensive biography of L. Frank Baum that sometimes reads like a history thesis. Baum's early life is not well-documented, so the author tends to make statements like "He must have felt like..." or "one can only imagine that..." in places where the facts run thin. Still, the book seems to parallel Baum's legacy in an interesting way. To this point, much of what I "knew" about Baum was based on a made-for-TV movie from 1990 (starr
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 28, 2009
Tammy
rated it:
Almost everyone in the United States knows the story of the Wizard of Oz. Whether you’re familiar with it from TV reruns of the 1939 MGM classic or from reading the books, chances are you’re well acquainted with Dorothy and her quest to follow the Yellow Brick Road.
What you may not know is that like Dorothy, her creator, L. Frank Baum, experienced a tornado when he was young. Or that Baum’s interest in spiritualism informed his creation of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly More...
What you may not know is that like Dorothy, her creator, L. Frank Baum, experienced a tornado when he was young. Or that Baum’s interest in spiritualism informed his creation of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly More...
Nov 18, 2009
Terri
rated it:
I don't often ready biographies, but I have had a lifelong love affair with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and after finally seeing Wicked on stage, I had to know more about the man that birthed Oz.
The writing was choppy and seemed forced which seemed to mirror Baum's haphazard life and career--moving from place to place never quite finding his equilibrium until he start writing and publishing his children's books. After reaching the end of the book, the final chapter or epilogue was pr More...
The writing was choppy and seemed forced which seemed to mirror Baum's haphazard life and career--moving from place to place never quite finding his equilibrium until he start writing and publishing his children's books. After reaching the end of the book, the final chapter or epilogue was pr More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 13, 2010
Joanmom
rated it: 
Some other reviews complain that this book reads like a college dissertation, to which I reply - so what? It shows the author did her research about the times and places Baum lived in. She certainly didn't have much to go on about his personal life and thoughts, therefore, the subtitle: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum. I think she captured his interests and influences and personality quite well. Baum, his wife, family, mother-in-law, are all interesting people with fascinating interests
More...
Aug 24, 2011
Neil
rated it:
A biography almost saved by the subject, but not quite. The first half of this biography is awful, if it hadn't been for the fact that it was bought for me as a present I don't think I'd have stuck with it. However when we finally get to the interesting part of Baum's life i.e. when he starts writing books it improves considerably. A good biography should make all of the subjects life interesting and not just the parts for which they are famous. The author spends far too much time hammerin
More...
Apr 20, 2010
Jason
rated it:
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
I'm sure there's a fascinating biography to eventually be written about L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz series of children's books, because Baum was a fascinating guy -- a failed theatre veteran from the dawn of Broadway-style musicals, he cycled through a whole series of typical late-1800s en More...
I'm sure there's a fascinating biography to eventually be written about L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz series of children's books, because Baum was a fascinating guy -- a failed theatre veteran from the dawn of Broadway-style musicals, he cycled through a whole series of typical late-1800s en More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 28, 2011
Jessi
rated it:
Ended up giving this one three stars just because it was such a fast read. Don't know if info on Baum is scarce but I had hoped for a little more. Lots of filler (though well-developed) and more conjecture than I care for in a nonfiction book. Interesting to learn how certain events may have shaped the story of Oz (sister's death, World's fair, 1906 earthquake) Also interesting to find out that he tried to quit Oz but bankruptcy forced him back in.
Jan 10, 2011
Pilar
rated it:
Fantastic amount of information about a very interesting man and historical period, and clearly well-researched. This book felt at points like someone's dissertation -- like the author was trying very hard to make the pieces of Baum's life fit into a neat narrative, and to prove her thesis. But Loncraine seems to have a great affection for Baum, and his creations, and that somehow redeems the bits that don't work as well.
Nov 04, 2010
Rhyk
rated it: 
I'm shocked that there aren't more reviews of this book. I liked it very much both for it's background of how events affected the Baum (assumptions) and his imaginative techniques, business (what's the opposite of savvy without sounding insultin?) and literary aspirations. Very enjoyable read full of fascinating facts about strange events in Upstate New York in the 1800's.
Oct 24, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
I loved this book, because I have been reading Oz books since I was a little girl. Finally, I have read an insightful biography of the original author, L. Frank Baum, that tells about his life, and helps me to understand how he came to invent Oz and write these books. Marvelous! And the financial aspects of the Gilded Age have some similarities to our own!
Jul 29, 2011
Mark
rated it:
A very good biographical study of L. Frank Baum. Loncraine tends to overreach at times with some of the possible influences on Baum, but she's right more often than not. I expected a little more on the influence of Baum's Oz (for example, the accuracy of the ubiquitous allegorical connection between Oz and Populism), but that's my own preference.
Jan 19, 2011
Curlybookworm
rated it:
It was an easy, interesting read, but not only was the author possibly unaware of the true nature of the "Russians" Baum lived among in the Dakotas, she may have been misinformed or completely made up an account of a German-Russian event he witnessed and wrote about. Must investigate!
Dec 28, 2010
Debi
rated it:
I like the book but have to agree with nearly everyone else that the author has to do a lot of conjecturing and abundant use of her imagination to fill out a history that just isn't available. However, I did learn a lot about the time in which he lived and grew up and that is a plus.
Apr 25, 2011
Wendy
rated it:
Lots of conjecture about Baum personally, and guesses about where his inspiration came from; but generally it was an intriguing look at the man behind the curtain and the times in which he lived. I had no idea he had written so many non-Oz books using pen names.
I have to agree with the author in that MGM made a huge mistake when they made Oz a "dream" that Dorothy had when she got knocked on the head. Oz wasn't a dream place. Not at all.
I have to agree with the author in that MGM made a huge mistake when they made Oz a "dream" that Dorothy had when she got knocked on the head. Oz wasn't a dream place. Not at all.
Mar 01, 2011
Vicki
rated it:
A fascinating glimpse into the man who created the first truly American fairy tale--the Wizard of Oz. The author does a good job comparing Baum's writings against the backdrop of what was happening in the country during the same time period.
Jan 21, 2010
Christian
rated it: 
Only read to chapter 4 then stopped. Really wanted to like this book because of it's subject matter but couldn't continue reading it, author's style was to erratic.
If anyone can suggest another biography on Baum please let me know.
If anyone can suggest another biography on Baum please let me know.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 11, 2010
Chris
rated it:
A decent biography of L. Frank Baum marred by the frequency with which the author references things in Baum's life which may or may not have influenced him. It's interesting that The Wizard of Oz author COULD have been influenced by the Cardiff giant... but there's no proof and she makes references like this all over the place.
Aug 23, 2011
One of the most thorough and delightfully written account of a human being that I've ever read
Jul 08, 2011
Kind of reads like a book report at times and makes a lot of assumptions, but still good.
Oct 28, 2009
Susan
rated it:
Learned a lot about him but it was kind of dry. Sounds like a lot of the other books he wrote were real crap - remind myself NOT to read them.
Jul 15, 2011
Leah
rated it:
The author of this book does a great job of intertwining what is going on in the world during the time of L. Frank Baum. This is important as the events shaped his mind when he would later write the Wizard of Oz series. It seems as if the author of this book really did her research and I appreciate that. My biggest peeve of the book is that sometimes it begins to sound more like a college dissertation instead of fun, interesting book. But besides that, job well done!
Apr 01, 2011
Gina
rated it:
"Stunt, dwarf, or destroy the imagination of a child and you have taken away its chances of success in life. Imagination transforms the commonplace into the great and creates the new out of the old." - L. Frank Baum
I LOVED this book. I love anything "Wizard of Oz." The author gave me a great insight into the life and mind of L. Frank Baum. I think she did a great job with this book.
I LOVED this book. I love anything "Wizard of Oz." The author gave me a great insight into the life and mind of L. Frank Baum. I think she did a great job with this book.
Oct 21, 2009
Jeni
rated it:
I am going to attempt to get back into this. I was struggling with it when I put it aside for The Lost Symbol. I am not optimistic! Perhaps I will spend my weekend pouring through a stack of magazines first!
Apr 08, 2010
A nice effort. I felt some dissatisfactions, though; wrote about this in my blog:
http://vines-wines-lines.blogspot.com/20...
http://vines-wines-lines.blogspot.com/20...
