Customer Reviews

Annotated Wizard Of Oz

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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I don't need to tell you about the Wizard of Oz - you already know the story.

What is amazing about this edition is that the original story is completely reprinted in it's original form. That means that all of the illustrations are included with the text arranged exactly as it should be, something that almost no edition has done correctly.

Believe it or not, it makes a difference. The text makes a bit more sense, as the illustrations are integral to the text. The illustrations actually flow INTO the text! It's hard to describe, really, but there is an interaction. This book was a collaborative effort between Baum and Denslow, who split the profits evenly.

Okay, so that's it for the actual story.

The forward gives a brief but very readable biography of Baum, and the annotations are also quite good. There are a number of color pictures of rare Oz Ephemera, and many good black and white pictures of film and stage productions as well.

The type is clearly set, making this book very easy to read.

The only faults with this book are that it's a bit heavy for casual reading, and the annotation sometimes severely impact the flow of the story. These faults are easily overlooked when the material is so good!

If you've ever read this story and thought that it was merely okay, you really should read a good version such as this, it will change your preception radically!

Enjoy!

I was immediately impressed by the binding, the feel of the cover and the paper on which the book was printed. It is difficult to find the Wizard of Oz in hard cover and this issue is outstanding. The original illustrations help to transport the reader back in time to gray Kansas and the vibrant Emerald City. The annotations add deeper understanding to the story and the conditions of the time period. This book deserves a space on the bookshelves of young families and those of grandparents and aunts and uncles. A great book to read to someone, side by side.

Beautiful book. But one of the reviewer mentioned that he was missing the slipcover. I also ordered mine from Amazon and it too did not come with an embossed slipcover. I'm also wondering if all the other Norton Annotated selections came with a slipcover. Does anyone have any info?

I think that this is an awsome book!! It has all the adventure that you need as a child. It is really good!!

This book, like the timeless one it discusses, is an instant classic. Hearn takes you in and behind the world of L. Frank Baum, and puts the reader into the time, place, and mentality in which this book was written. It has just enough, and the right kind of information about one of America's most outstanding writers.

This book, as well, is one of the best bedtime reads imaginable; like Dorothy's Oz, it removes one - delightfully so - from the present, rather sobering world, and into another, a fascinating excursion into the making-up of the make-believe. The research is stunning, the detail simply absorbing; Hearn's absolute identification and love for the whole Oz folklore is bracing and contagious. Hearn's writing style is refreshing, engaging, and blessedly free of dry, stuffy pedantry. The book can be read by the childlike and children of all ages.

One can't thank Hearn enough for this endeavor.

Not too much to say. This is the timeless story in a beautiful presentation volume with more annotation and trivia than one can ever hope for. Extensively researched and beautifully presented, it will grace your library shelf.

You don't buy this volume just to get a copy of The Wizard of Oz. There are other, cheaper ways of doing that. The total package is a work of art and quite affordable at that. My library has two copies now so that my daughters will not have to fight over one later.

The copy that I bought from Amazon.com did not have the embossed slip cover (a thing of beauty by itself) and I returned it for that reason. A presentation volume with this much work and care is not complete without it.

This fascinating tome is an in-depth look the L. Frank Baum and his famous work, The Wizard of Oz. The book begins with a biography of Baum that turns into a biography of the book, complete with information on all of the plays and movies that were derived from it. Next comes the bulk of the book, a reproduction of the original 1900 edition of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with pages upon pages of notes sprinkled throughout. As an added bonus, the book ends with William Wallace Denslow's story, Adventures of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Little Girl.

This book is absolutely fascinating! The introduction (biography) is brimming with many wonderful photos, and even several of Baum's maps. As might be expected of the notes for the book, I found many long-winded and/or irrelevant, while others completely tickled my fancy. This, though, probably merely reflects my own tastes; another reader would probably cherish some notes I disliked and vice versa. Overall, I think that this book is a wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in the Wizard of Oz, and I highly recommend it.

How many books come into your house only to be fought over by parents and children alike? There is something for everyone here - pictures, in-depth stories behind all the books and the film, original book cover photos, beautiful hard-cover, etc.

The research was extensive and interesting: this is one collector's item which sprung forth as a true labor of love and not with grand visions of profit - you should not miss.

I believe the Wizard of Oz is one of the greatest children's novels ever written. It has fantasy, horror, beauty and fun characters, but it also has some wise comments about life. (The scene where Dorothy unmasks the Wizard as a fraud and they chat about life back home and his life in Oz is one of the most touching conversations in children's literature. When the Wizard floats off and abandons Dorothy, we feel, as she must, the pain of disappointment.)

If you are reading to your children, this book is a top choice. Kids who are read to become better readers. And what can be more quality time that hearing the loving voice of a mom or dad or even elder sibling, reading an exciting tale?

The centennial edition has 70 pages of biographical information about Baum, info on the entire Oz series (it's quite a number of books), a section about W. W. Denslow's beloved illustrations and much more. This makes the book not only a great family gift but also a good present for a child to treasure for his or her entire life. I still have my copy of Wizard of Oz, complete with a torn page (the pretty picture of Glynda on her throne), a souvenir of my baby sister (oh well) and I would NEVER part from it. This is a gorgeous edition and should be a top choice for your shelf of good children's literature.

The Annotated Alice is one of my prized possessions, so I was looking forward to reading this one. However, it was not what I expected. Martin Gardner's annotations to the Lewis Carroll classics tend to focus on aspects of Victorian society mentioned in the books as well as obscure elements that a quick reader might miss.

The annotations for this book, on the other hand, tend to focus more on the thematic and symbolic elements and how they are brought out in the text. I was a little disgruntled at this until I realized that the society behind Dorothy needed less explaining than the society behind Alice, at least to an American reader. Given that, I think that the annotations make the book significantly more interesting and enjoyable for the adult reader. Also included is one of the longest introductions I've ever encountered (102 pages), which is primarily a biography of Baum. (I was going to say a mini-biography, but I don't think 102 oversized pages is a "mini.")

A fascinating read for Oz fans.