Like the Wizard in his most famous creation, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz--or as it was retitled in later editions: The Wizard of Oz--L. Frank Baum was a magic manipulator of appearance and reality. Baum's writings revolutionized children's literature, thrusting the genre into the forefront of the national consciousness. In his at times pedestrian prose, Baum created alternate realms for readers, young and old alike. In The Wizard of Oz, Baum envisioned a fairy tale that was uniquely American, mixing common images of American life: scarecrows, things made out of tin, carnival balloonists, and sharpsters, with fantasy in the grand European tradition: castles, lions, and witches. This classic book creates a magical world that has enthralled readers for more than a century. The famous 1939 Judy Garland movie of the same name, which was based on Baum's story, has become one of the most-viewed films of all...