This wonderful edition of the classic Oz tale is bothliterature and criticism in one volume. The entire story - unabridged- is here, with all of Denslows pictures (in black and white). It also includes two essays, one biographical and one critical, about Oz and it's creator, L.F.Baum.The biographical essay by Martin Gardner is a good overview of Baum's "jack of all trades" life: chicken farmer, playwrite, traveling salesman, author. It includes many of the stories included in "To Please a Child," the wonderful biography of Baum that is long out of print.
The critical essay concerns the history of the Oz books as literature. Oz is considered by many both a Utopia and the first true American fairyland. Yet, critics of children literature rarely mention Baum along with other revered authors. Russel Nye captures perceptions of Oz over the first half century in a concise, but comprehensive manner.
My only criticism is that it was not changed from the first edition (published 1957) to the second (published 1994), other than a brief introduction. I would have like to have seen a review of how Oz has changed in the public consciousness in the past 43 years.
Enjoy this book, and enjoy the story at the end.
