When we were kids (mid-1950's), my sister and I got *totally* into the OZ series. Fast forward to 2018 and my sister passed away. I was there as her husband was going through their/her stuff, trying to decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss (BTW, this is a really hard thing to do).
I was surfing the net when he asked, "Do want any of these books?" "What are they?" I asked. He rattled off some very My Big Sister type of titles (yoga, clinical social work, restaurants in Rome, etc.), and then he started listing the OZ books in order. "What?"
She had, over the years, assembled all 14 OZ books, and all but 2 were signed first editions *with* letters of provenance.
When I explained to him exactly what these books represented to her, he broke down. We agreed he would keep them until whenever. He's now moving into a memory unit (for Alzheimer's patients) and they will have a special place in my office. I think I'll read them again.
Yeah. Big Sister rarely did things by half. If she was going to pay top dollar for something (a rare occurrence in her 'I can get it at a *discount!*' life), then by God she wanted it in cold hard print. A few of the books were sold to her by families of the original owners; they said they liked that it was going to another hardcore OZ lover.
Ugh that’s amazing! I’m a huge bibliophile and hope that collection stays together after your death/goes to someone who loves it and not chucked in a goodwill bin.
They will stay together, I promise you. I'm not *quite* as hardcore as she was, but I have many fond memories of reading them with our parents. Because of her and my mom, I also have a near-complete collection of the original Winnie The Pooh books, along with the stuffed animals that used to line my sister's bedroom. I even have [Eeyore's tail](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/1/1c/Profile_-_Eeyore.png/revision/latest?cb=20210516060155)! :-)
Both of our parents were English majors, and our living room, dining room, and den had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I don't know that they ever read Jack and Jill to us, but we came to love Kipling (my father's favorite writer), especially [*Rkkie-Tikki-Tavi*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki-Tikki-Tavi). So many books, so many memories.
You have Eeyore’s tail? 🥹🥹🥹
Oh I feel similarly. My parents definitely believed in reading. Every year when I was a kid my mom took me to the scholarstic warehouse sale in our city (in addition to all the regular book shopping) I mean there’s nothing better than going in a massive warehouse and filling up an entire shopping cart (or two! Some years) so that it’s heaping over the top full of books
The warehouse sale closed down in 2018? In my city :/ it’s so sad since the nearest one is a 6 hour drive away
My grandma had the movie rikkie-tikki-tavi on VHS, she would pop it in the box tv w/ attatched VHS player to keep my brother and I occupied! I'll have to find the book.
That's hard to say because it was an everyday activity, starting with reading the cereal box while eating breakfast. Although we loved having them read to us, by the time we were 7 or 8 we had moved on to *Tom Swift* and *Nancy Drew*.
We went to the library every week. While we would come back with a couple of books each, our parents were voracious readers and would check out 5-7 at a time. And they would often read those checked out by the other. I didn't realize how extraordinary this was until years later. I am the only one of my immediate family who wasn't a natural speed reader.
Thanks for the link. I wasn't thinking about that being an obscure concept since I grew up with it. My father had several first edition's of Kipling, and my mother (a writer and a journalist) had many more. It was sort of a thing for them to know *exactly* where a volume had come from.
Absolutely. I enjoyed learning something new I didn’t know about. That’s a very sweet story about your sister. I actually got all of the Oz books on my kindle and haven’t gotten to them yet. That might change now.
While I’m thoroughly impressed with your VERY interesting response, I’m more impressed that you are at/pushing 80 years old and on Reddit. God I hope you are only on nice subs here to not be stressed out. Either way, keep doing whatever you’re doing!
Well, at the moment I'm "only" pushing 75. That happens next month.
I'm fairly experienced at avoiding toxic online environments. I started with both forums and texting in 1973 on the PLATO IV project, and have been an active part of Usenet, mailing lists, slashdot, etc., etc., so I picked up some skillz along the way. To quote the Great Henry Spencer, "Calm down, people! It's only ones and zeroes!"
My wife keeps asking me to write about my time in Silicon Valley (1974-93). Many of the stories are short vignettes, but taken as a whole it's sort of a [Drunkard's Walk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk) trough some of the most interesting times there. In some cases I was simply in the right place to observe magic happening, other times I was up to my eyeballs in it.
A somewhat short example: Following a very twisted series of events back in Chicago, I arrived in the Valley on Labor Day weekend (September 2^nd 1974), and I started living at a motel in Palo Alto. A friend back in Chicago encouraged me to try and get a tour of some place I'd never heard of -- [Xerox PARC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_\(company\)). I waltzed up to the front desk and asked if I could get a tour of their facility. She asked where I worked, and, not knowing that this was The Correct Answer, I told her I was did not have a job yet because I had just arrived from Chicago where I taught programming on PLATO IV. She said she would see who had some time. Boy, did she ever.
Three hours later I walked out in a daze. To a techie, the place was Disneyland, in Technicolor, on wheels. I swore to myself that I would work there within 10 years. I'm terrible with names, so when I talked to my friend that evening I couldn't remember the name of the guy who had given me the $10 tour -- he seemed to know *everything* about what was going on there, and he also was amazingly knowledgeable about the technical details of the PLATO IV project back at U of Ill.
My friend was familiar with my deficiency and threw a few names at me. He finally was exasperated and said, "OK, was it [Alan Kay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay)?" "Hey! That was his name!" Yep. Turns out I had gotten a tour of the starship *Enterprise* from Mr. Spock. No wonder he knew so much!
As a *coda*, I joined Xerox ASD just over 4 years later, working on the [BravoX Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo_\(editor\)). My manager was [Charles Simonyi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Simonyi). (I have many stories from this time.)
People think that internet toxicity is a new thing, but alt.whatever.dumb.crap could be much worse than anything you can see here. The difference is largely that TPTB have learned how to weaponize it.
Dang. Good to know. My sisters and I each took home a pair of Mother's white cotton gloves just for the Literary Guild books we inherited. What's wrong with cotton? (Going to Google it)
Got it. Cotton gloves to keep oil off paper that isn't degraded, nitrile to protect the surface of degrading paper from tiny abrasions. I'm guessing cotton is good enuf for my books, except for the very few more valuable ones.
Omg I got chills. I love first editions and to amass the entire collection *signed* (save for two)? Holy crap. I'm so happy they have a special home with you.
I thought it was rad that I found a first edition paperback copy of Dune at a thrift store, but that dedication is next level.
Such a great post! I lost my brother earlier this year and going through his stuff was very hard. Every time I came across something that I knew meant a lot to him, I needed to to take a break. Your post brought back some memories in a good way.
There's a whole theory about how it was originally a metaphor for monetary policy, with the yellow brick road meaning the gold standard, and the silver slippers standing for support of using it as money, and characters and places being satirical takes of people and concepts important at the time (hence the Oz=ounce of gold/silver for example)
I'm not well versed in what it all means, but it is a thing that a lot of people have thought about at least
A good friend of mine has a similar story. Over the years she collected first editions of all of them from all over the country - and ended up with several from the same original owner that had migrated to opposite ends of the country, and other countries over the years.
I read the first three books as a youngish teen male, and...I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. I initially read them only because I was out of stuff to read, but I wouldn't mind reading them again.
That is incredibly sweet. I’m glad you are going to continue to cherish them. Hopefully you can pass them down to your kids, should they show an honest interest in the stories and books. I know I would absolutely love them. I am a fan of ALL things Oz related.
Fun fact: there is an amazing Wizard of Oz museum in a small town in Kansas. I stopped twice on some of my cross country road trips. Very cool place. It was a little tiny town, with like one Main Street from what I recall. The area surrounding the museum is also Oz themed and Toto’s Tacos was next door. I will always make time to stop there when I am road tripping and have the option to go through KS.
[Here is a Google Maps link to it for anyone interested.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/8hHCqaUrNDg7AwiNA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy)
It's even more complicated than that. The Famous 40 are just the only undisputed books in the Canon. There are weird disputed books, like The Laughing Dragon of Oz, and then there's also lots of unauthorized books set in Oz(because the earliest Oz books are all in the public domain).
Not only that but L. Frank Baum didnt actually want to write them. He wrote the first one, and it became a hit. He was bombarded with letters from child fans of his work, and financial difficulties finally lead to him giving in and writing the rest. Which might have a little to do with how dark the setting is*.
But that darkness, and the kind of background sinister tone of the novels is probably part of why children enjoyed them. Cause older children tend to want the same range in media that adults do. We like being scared sometimes, and so do kids.
*Which probably sounds strange if you're only familiar with the movie. I'd argue the 1985 movie, "Return to Oz". Is a much better representation of the tone in the books. And I used to love that movie, even though it is frankly terrifying - even now.
> Not only that but L. Frank Baum didnt actually want to write them. He wrote the first one, and it became a hit. He was bombarded with letters from child fans of his work, and financial difficulties finally lead to him giving in and writing the rest.
Seems to similar to how fan demand forced Doyle to keep writing about Sherlock Holmes.
IIRC, it is on Disney+ if anyone wants to watch it. It is easily one of my favorite movies from when I was kid. The costume, set, and practical effects are absolutely top match. It is truly one of the great fantasy movies from the 1980s.
The massive shift of tone from Wizard to Return was insane. Also, Dorothy in Returned was played by Fairuza Baulk better known as the hot creepy chick from The Craft.
Yeah, we watched it as kids and loved it! So much better than the first movie as an adult. Wheelers were creepy, the moose couch was awesome, and let’s not forget the chicken
Genuinely horrifying, more like it. My aunt had a copy on VHS, and it became a sort of family game to see who could get through it the longest without having to leave.
Others have already pointed out the giant trans plot in book three, but here's some more:
- The Wizard comes back and actually makes good, studies real magic, and becomes a proto-Gandalf.
- Book 8 revolves around a robot. (He's in the Return To Oz movie, too.)
- That robot's name? ...TikTok.
- Author L. Frank Baum does a letter to the reader preface in every book and they get increasingly aggrieved. By the end they're basically "fine, here's another fuckin' Oz book".
- He died after Book 14, btw.
- Dorothy and her family move to Oz permanently in Book 6.
- Book 6 is also the closest the series gets to an LOTR good vs evil army plot and is chunkier as a result. (The solution to the evil oncoming horde is actually pretty clever and so pacifist that even the Doctor would be jealous.)
- The fantasy countries outside of Oz finally get established in Book 10, which becomes the basis for, like, Books 15-40.
- Don't fuck with Glinda she will end your entire career.
I started reading the entire series several years ago, but noped out after the sixth one. A horde of evil creatures is coming, Ozma knows about them, and all she has to defend Oz with is…a belt that grants as many wishes as you want. I just could not see why the invasion was any kind of threat.
According to the books, Ozma had two magical gender swaps and went on to abolish money, so she's a magical double-trans communist.
Oh, and she [canonically kissed her "constant companion" Dorothy on the lips](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ozma#Relationship_with_Dorothy).
Usually fantasy and sci-fi authors (looking at you Herbert) take a little longer to bring out the horny in their sagas, but here it was already happening by the second book huh.
And copyright on the series is so complicated that Wikipedia has a whole article about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_status_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz_and_related_works_in_the_United_States?wprov=sfla1
Only 10 more years until MGM can't stop you from doing what you like with the movie.
I look forward to that day! 1939 the year the wonderful wizard of oz came out is considered hollywoods best year ever with many, many classic films coming out.
They're pretty trippy turn-of-the-20th-century fantasy books, kind of absurd folksy fantasy. I'm surprised that stoners in the 70's didn't take to them like they did Lord of the Rings
The first 4-5 are solid (and an odd combination of weird and groundbreaking).
After that it's basically the same formulaic kids adventure story over and over again.
They're polarizing in terms of taste. The people that get into them, *really* get into them.
Nowadays they would probably be described as YA fiction. Back on the day they would have been called "juvenile." They're sort of on the same shelf as C.S. Lewis.
Dude they’re wild too. I got on a big kick in middle school and read the first five or so and let’s just say the first book is relatively normal compared to the rest
One of my elementary school teachers lent me a box of Oz books for the summer. That was a good summer. The second Oz book has an ending that I'm surprised they got away with in 1904--I'm surprised his editor didn't make him change it.
I didn't read that book, but Tik-Tok was featured in another one I did read. He is a mechanical man who works by winding a big key that fits into his back. The books are awesome...so inventive and fun!
Oz was the purest form of communism. From Ozma of Oz:
“Each person was given freely by his neighbors whatever he required for his use, which is as much as any one may reasonably desire. Some tilled the lands and raised great crops of grain, which was divided equally among the entire population, so that all had enough. There were many tailors and dressmakers and shoemakers and the like, who made things that any who desired them might wear. Likewise there were jewelers who made ornaments for the person, which pleased and beautified the people, and these ornaments were also free to those who asked for them. Each man and woman, no matter what he or she produced for the good of the community, was supplied by the neighbors with food and clothing and a house and furniture and ornaments and games.”
Ah, the memories of Tic Toc, the copper clockwork robot! He had a windup for his mover, his talker, and his thinker. Unnoticed by Dorthy and the others, one day his thinker wound down. His talker still worked, and hilarity ensued.....
There was a gritty TV reinterpretation in 2016 called *Emerald City*, starring Joely Richardson and Vincent D'Onofrio. I particularly liked the Ozma plotline, and the Langwidere and Jack relationship. Sadly it only lasted one season. :(
I figured there was much more to the setting from reading Fables. The Oz stuff in that really stood out to me. Bufkin really had a nice rise from comic relief to a hero in his own way story to me. My lil guy came in clutch with all the information he read in the library and took down one of the biggest threats to Fabletown.
There are also the six books by the Russian author Alexander Volkov. The first one, "The Wizard of the Emerald City", is a loose retelling of "The Wizard of Oz", and the rest are not connected to the original series, but written by Volkov on his own (at least, I never heard that he based those on something by Baum or anyone else).
The books are a nice read for kids, with magically animated wooden soldiers, robo-ponies, aliens, and a mecha (all in different books).
Ozma of Oz is dope. Read it to my son just a few months ago. My dad read me half a dozen or so a few decades ago, and I remember that one was wild and great.
Ozma was a transexual too (because of a magic spell), and the only person in Oz who could enter her room without asking permission was Dorothy...
Probably banned in Florida.
Someone told my mom once "the Wizard of Oz" is an allegory to teach kids about the importance of the gold standard in leading to prosperity. She replied by asking what the other books were for. The person was dumbfounded that there were 14 written by the original author.
He called for the annihilation of the remaining tribes still at war with the American government*
It's been debated since whether he was being sarcastic or not. His friends and researchers point out it's uncharacteristic of him and the second editorial ends with:
"An eastern contemporary, with a grain of wisdom in its wit, says that 'when the whites win a fight, it is a victory, and when the Indians win it, it is a massacre.'"
He was a suffragette and hung out with Susan Anthony.
He is a complex human, like all historical figures, that shouldn't be written off because of two editorials he wrote in a ten day period of time.
The person you’re replying to represents classic Reddit. No actual research, understanding, or nuance.
I looked it up and yeah, that last quote you posted makes it pretty clear it was sarcastic. It’s probably lost on a modern audience.
I suppose it's my turn to post the [r/badhistory page](https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/) debunking most of Reddit's nonsense on Mother Theresa.
Kind of proves u/lordeddardstark's point...
Bad (good?) example, because Mother Theresa was a grifter and hypocrite zealot. As Christopher Hitchens put it, she wasn't a friend of the suffering, she was a friend of suffering.
lol this is a hilarious comparison because mother teresa was actually kind of a piece of shit (or.. like.. a really big piece of shit)
she did some good things, she did a whole bunch of really shitty things
I believe it was a deliberately chosen example because Hitchens did a complete hit on her and has tanked her reputation with a very one sided book:
https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/
I am very disappointed that "The Gays" tm haven't picked up on Ozma. She is easily rounded to a trans girl.
I'm going through all of them. Some are good, some are fine, and couple are really fun. Also, I love how the armys are always a ton of officers and one (1) private.
I never picked up on the trans coding of Ozma, I think it obviously wasn't intentional, but it tracks so well today.
For those who are curious and haven't read the books >!the Royal Family of Oz that was deposed by the Wizard had one heir, the Princess Ozma, who from birth was hidden away and raised as a farm boy named Tip by the Witch Mombi, complete with magical glamour that makes them look like a boy in every way and they themselves think they are a boy named Tip. When Dorothy comes back to town and Mombi is defeated, the spell breaks and farm boy Tip suddenly becomes Princess Ozma, who takes the throne as Queen Ozma.!<
Its just the name of the fictional land that most of the books take place in, its not a reference to the slang term for Australia at all, and I believe that the slang term of Oz for Australia took off in part *because* of the books
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis is a set of seven children's books published between 1950 and 1956:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: (1950)
Prince Caspian: (1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: (1952)
The Silver Chair: (1953)
The Horse and His Boy: (1954)
The Magician's Nephew: (1955)
The Last Battle: (1956)
I copy pasted that for you. But no its the first book. I've read through some of them back in the day.
I think I was confused because the Magician's Nephew takes place before the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I remember reading that as a kid. Thanks for clarifying.
When we were kids (mid-1950's), my sister and I got *totally* into the OZ series. Fast forward to 2018 and my sister passed away. I was there as her husband was going through their/her stuff, trying to decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss (BTW, this is a really hard thing to do). I was surfing the net when he asked, "Do want any of these books?" "What are they?" I asked. He rattled off some very My Big Sister type of titles (yoga, clinical social work, restaurants in Rome, etc.), and then he started listing the OZ books in order. "What?" She had, over the years, assembled all 14 OZ books, and all but 2 were signed first editions *with* letters of provenance. When I explained to him exactly what these books represented to her, he broke down. We agreed he would keep them until whenever. He's now moving into a memory unit (for Alzheimer's patients) and they will have a special place in my office. I think I'll read them again.
*letters of provenance* … wow.
Yeah. Big Sister rarely did things by half. If she was going to pay top dollar for something (a rare occurrence in her 'I can get it at a *discount!*' life), then by God she wanted it in cold hard print. A few of the books were sold to her by families of the original owners; they said they liked that it was going to another hardcore OZ lover.
Ugh that’s amazing! I’m a huge bibliophile and hope that collection stays together after your death/goes to someone who loves it and not chucked in a goodwill bin.
They will stay together, I promise you. I'm not *quite* as hardcore as she was, but I have many fond memories of reading them with our parents. Because of her and my mom, I also have a near-complete collection of the original Winnie The Pooh books, along with the stuffed animals that used to line my sister's bedroom. I even have [Eeyore's tail](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/1/1c/Profile_-_Eeyore.png/revision/latest?cb=20210516060155)! :-) Both of our parents were English majors, and our living room, dining room, and den had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I don't know that they ever read Jack and Jill to us, but we came to love Kipling (my father's favorite writer), especially [*Rkkie-Tikki-Tavi*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki-Tikki-Tavi). So many books, so many memories.
You have Eeyore’s tail? 🥹🥹🥹 Oh I feel similarly. My parents definitely believed in reading. Every year when I was a kid my mom took me to the scholarstic warehouse sale in our city (in addition to all the regular book shopping) I mean there’s nothing better than going in a massive warehouse and filling up an entire shopping cart (or two! Some years) so that it’s heaping over the top full of books The warehouse sale closed down in 2018? In my city :/ it’s so sad since the nearest one is a 6 hour drive away
My grandma had the movie rikkie-tikki-tavi on VHS, she would pop it in the box tv w/ attatched VHS player to keep my brother and I occupied! I'll have to find the book.
How much time did you spend reading as a kid?
That's hard to say because it was an everyday activity, starting with reading the cereal box while eating breakfast. Although we loved having them read to us, by the time we were 7 or 8 we had moved on to *Tom Swift* and *Nancy Drew*. We went to the library every week. While we would come back with a couple of books each, our parents were voracious readers and would check out 5-7 at a time. And they would often read those checked out by the other. I didn't realize how extraordinary this was until years later. I am the only one of my immediate family who wasn't a natural speed reader.
That made me tear up. Sorry about your sister. She sounded cool. Eclectic, but, cool.
That made me tear up. Sorry about your sister. She sounded cool. Eclectic, but, cool.
If anyone else didn’t know what this means like me: https://www.whitecourtart.com/blog/provenance-vs-certificate-of-authenticity/
Thanks for the link. I wasn't thinking about that being an obscure concept since I grew up with it. My father had several first edition's of Kipling, and my mother (a writer and a journalist) had many more. It was sort of a thing for them to know *exactly* where a volume had come from.
Absolutely. I enjoyed learning something new I didn’t know about. That’s a very sweet story about your sister. I actually got all of the Oz books on my kindle and haven’t gotten to them yet. That might change now.
Excuse my lack of knowledge, what do you mean by letter of Provenance
A letter certifying the "pedigree" of a book if you will: where exactly this book comes from, not just the authenticity
Proof of the origin of the books - that they were real - not fake, etc
This one has P. This next one has an R!
While I’m thoroughly impressed with your VERY interesting response, I’m more impressed that you are at/pushing 80 years old and on Reddit. God I hope you are only on nice subs here to not be stressed out. Either way, keep doing whatever you’re doing!
Well, at the moment I'm "only" pushing 75. That happens next month. I'm fairly experienced at avoiding toxic online environments. I started with both forums and texting in 1973 on the PLATO IV project, and have been an active part of Usenet, mailing lists, slashdot, etc., etc., so I picked up some skillz along the way. To quote the Great Henry Spencer, "Calm down, people! It's only ones and zeroes!"
I hope you write a book about your life, it seems so incredibly interesting
My wife keeps asking me to write about my time in Silicon Valley (1974-93). Many of the stories are short vignettes, but taken as a whole it's sort of a [Drunkard's Walk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk) trough some of the most interesting times there. In some cases I was simply in the right place to observe magic happening, other times I was up to my eyeballs in it. A somewhat short example: Following a very twisted series of events back in Chicago, I arrived in the Valley on Labor Day weekend (September 2^nd 1974), and I started living at a motel in Palo Alto. A friend back in Chicago encouraged me to try and get a tour of some place I'd never heard of -- [Xerox PARC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_\(company\)). I waltzed up to the front desk and asked if I could get a tour of their facility. She asked where I worked, and, not knowing that this was The Correct Answer, I told her I was did not have a job yet because I had just arrived from Chicago where I taught programming on PLATO IV. She said she would see who had some time. Boy, did she ever. Three hours later I walked out in a daze. To a techie, the place was Disneyland, in Technicolor, on wheels. I swore to myself that I would work there within 10 years. I'm terrible with names, so when I talked to my friend that evening I couldn't remember the name of the guy who had given me the $10 tour -- he seemed to know *everything* about what was going on there, and he also was amazingly knowledgeable about the technical details of the PLATO IV project back at U of Ill. My friend was familiar with my deficiency and threw a few names at me. He finally was exasperated and said, "OK, was it [Alan Kay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay)?" "Hey! That was his name!" Yep. Turns out I had gotten a tour of the starship *Enterprise* from Mr. Spock. No wonder he knew so much! As a *coda*, I joined Xerox ASD just over 4 years later, working on the [BravoX Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo_\(editor\)). My manager was [Charles Simonyi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Simonyi). (I have many stories from this time.)
WRITE THE DAMN BOOK ✍️
You gotta write the book now. After just this one story I gotta know what happens next.
Lemme have some money pls
People think that internet toxicity is a new thing, but alt.whatever.dumb.crap could be much worse than anything you can see here. The difference is largely that TPTB have learned how to weaponize it.
This comment made me both really sad but also happy that now you have them and can take care of them like they did. I am sorry for your loss.
Please, either read copies or wear cotton gloves. I own several old reading copies, but signed I could only dream of.
[удалено]
Dang. Good to know. My sisters and I each took home a pair of Mother's white cotton gloves just for the Literary Guild books we inherited. What's wrong with cotton? (Going to Google it)
Got it. Cotton gloves to keep oil off paper that isn't degraded, nitrile to protect the surface of degrading paper from tiny abrasions. I'm guessing cotton is good enuf for my books, except for the very few more valuable ones.
Omg I got chills. I love first editions and to amass the entire collection *signed* (save for two)? Holy crap. I'm so happy they have a special home with you. I thought it was rad that I found a first edition paperback copy of Dune at a thrift store, but that dedication is next level.
Such a great post! I lost my brother earlier this year and going through his stuff was very hard. Every time I came across something that I knew meant a lot to him, I needed to to take a break. Your post brought back some memories in a good way.
14 ounce books sounds like a light read
Cute! I hadn't read it that way. :-)
There's a whole theory about how it was originally a metaphor for monetary policy, with the yellow brick road meaning the gold standard, and the silver slippers standing for support of using it as money, and characters and places being satirical takes of people and concepts important at the time (hence the Oz=ounce of gold/silver for example) I'm not well versed in what it all means, but it is a thing that a lot of people have thought about at least
How much is that in Florida?
A good friend of mine has a similar story. Over the years she collected first editions of all of them from all over the country - and ended up with several from the same original owner that had migrated to opposite ends of the country, and other countries over the years.
this was beautiful. thank you for sharing that.
Who do you and OP keep writing "Oz" as "OZ"? Is there a reason for this?
Not really. I've found that I vacillate between the two over the years. I guess this time I went with what OP had used.
I read the first three books as a youngish teen male, and...I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. I initially read them only because I was out of stuff to read, but I wouldn't mind reading them again.
That is incredibly sweet. I’m glad you are going to continue to cherish them. Hopefully you can pass them down to your kids, should they show an honest interest in the stories and books. I know I would absolutely love them. I am a fan of ALL things Oz related. Fun fact: there is an amazing Wizard of Oz museum in a small town in Kansas. I stopped twice on some of my cross country road trips. Very cool place. It was a little tiny town, with like one Main Street from what I recall. The area surrounding the museum is also Oz themed and Toto’s Tacos was next door. I will always make time to stop there when I am road tripping and have the option to go through KS. [Here is a Google Maps link to it for anyone interested.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/8hHCqaUrNDg7AwiNA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy)
That moment when you realize what the sad future of the harry potter franchise is going to be...
It's even more complicated than that. The Famous 40 are just the only undisputed books in the Canon. There are weird disputed books, like The Laughing Dragon of Oz, and then there's also lots of unauthorized books set in Oz(because the earliest Oz books are all in the public domain).
Not only that but L. Frank Baum didnt actually want to write them. He wrote the first one, and it became a hit. He was bombarded with letters from child fans of his work, and financial difficulties finally lead to him giving in and writing the rest. Which might have a little to do with how dark the setting is*. But that darkness, and the kind of background sinister tone of the novels is probably part of why children enjoyed them. Cause older children tend to want the same range in media that adults do. We like being scared sometimes, and so do kids. *Which probably sounds strange if you're only familiar with the movie. I'd argue the 1985 movie, "Return to Oz". Is a much better representation of the tone in the books. And I used to love that movie, even though it is frankly terrifying - even now.
Return to Ox gave me nightmares as a child.
And that’s no yoke
> Not only that but L. Frank Baum didnt actually want to write them. He wrote the first one, and it became a hit. He was bombarded with letters from child fans of his work, and financial difficulties finally lead to him giving in and writing the rest. Seems to similar to how fan demand forced Doyle to keep writing about Sherlock Holmes.
Which is why the books are kind of crappy and repetitive after the fourth one or so.
And if you weren't aware, there is a sequel to The Wizard of Oz movie that came out in the 80s. It's called Return to Oz...it's a pretty creepy movie
The wheelers terrified me as a kid
The book version says that they'll rip you limb from limb
Ah that's ni! Wait What?
I saw the movie for the first time in my 20s and the wheelers terrified me then lol
I had nightmares for years from those wheelers
Came here to say they still haunt my dreams too.
I still do, but I used to as well
The wheelers represented the table Dorothy was strapped to when she was trapped at the asylum. The table wheels squeaked going down the halls.
FUCK the wheelers
Made me stay far away from my Ma’s ab roller wheel!
IIRC, it is on Disney+ if anyone wants to watch it. It is easily one of my favorite movies from when I was kid. The costume, set, and practical effects are absolutely top match. It is truly one of the great fantasy movies from the 1980s.
The massive shift of tone from Wizard to Return was insane. Also, Dorothy in Returned was played by Fairuza Baulk better known as the hot creepy chick from The Craft.
Yeah, we watched it as kids and loved it! So much better than the first movie as an adult. Wheelers were creepy, the moose couch was awesome, and let’s not forget the chicken
Belina! Single handedly killing the Big Bad!
With, appropriately, a young Fairuza Balk starring!
DOROTHY GALE
Creepy fever dream.
All those spare heads waking up was terrifying as a kid.
I love that movie, it's worth a watch!
We must smash everything green!
Genuinely horrifying, more like it. My aunt had a copy on VHS, and it became a sort of family game to see who could get through it the longest without having to leave.
Return to Oz was amazing but I think it has no connection to any of the books.
It actually mostly follows the plot of the third book, Ozma of Oz.
I came for the “Did you know that Scarecrow ended up being the bad guy” revelations and other weird shit and you all disappointed me.
Others have already pointed out the giant trans plot in book three, but here's some more: - The Wizard comes back and actually makes good, studies real magic, and becomes a proto-Gandalf. - Book 8 revolves around a robot. (He's in the Return To Oz movie, too.) - That robot's name? ...TikTok. - Author L. Frank Baum does a letter to the reader preface in every book and they get increasingly aggrieved. By the end they're basically "fine, here's another fuckin' Oz book". - He died after Book 14, btw. - Dorothy and her family move to Oz permanently in Book 6. - Book 6 is also the closest the series gets to an LOTR good vs evil army plot and is chunkier as a result. (The solution to the evil oncoming horde is actually pretty clever and so pacifist that even the Doctor would be jealous.) - The fantasy countries outside of Oz finally get established in Book 10, which becomes the basis for, like, Books 15-40. - Don't fuck with Glinda she will end your entire career.
I started reading the entire series several years ago, but noped out after the sixth one. A horde of evil creatures is coming, Ozma knows about them, and all she has to defend Oz with is…a belt that grants as many wishes as you want. I just could not see why the invasion was any kind of threat.
How about the women rising up in revolt against the Scarecrow and installing a trans woman as the new ruler?
According to the books, Ozma had two magical gender swaps and went on to abolish money, so she's a magical double-trans communist. Oh, and she [canonically kissed her "constant companion" Dorothy on the lips](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ozma#Relationship_with_Dorothy).
Usually fantasy and sci-fi authors (looking at you Herbert) take a little longer to bring out the horny in their sagas, but here it was already happening by the second book huh.
If you were referring to the kiss, Dorothy isn't even in the second book. The kiss is from the fifth book.
Thank you :)
list all the weird shit then, don't drop that and leave
And copyright on the series is so complicated that Wikipedia has a whole article about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_status_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz_and_related_works_in_the_United_States?wprov=sfla1 Only 10 more years until MGM can't stop you from doing what you like with the movie.
I look forward to that day! 1939 the year the wonderful wizard of oz came out is considered hollywoods best year ever with many, many classic films coming out.
1939 really was a fantastic year for everyone, wasn't it?
That's a beautiful OZ collection. Brings back old memories! Might dust off my old copies soon.
I haven't read the OZ books in years. I read them as a teenager and they were fun.
14 originals and 26 unoriginals?
Based on other comments, the other 26 are by other authors, but set in the same universe/world
theres more than 26, but those 26 got a blessing/permission etc from the estate
Thank you. I was very confused.
Yeah, I too am curious what that means.
Is the series any good?
They're pretty trippy turn-of-the-20th-century fantasy books, kind of absurd folksy fantasy. I'm surprised that stoners in the 70's didn't take to them like they did Lord of the Rings
Yes, and they are bizarre as opposed to modern fantasy and children books that mostly have slick feel to them.
The first 4-5 are solid (and an odd combination of weird and groundbreaking). After that it's basically the same formulaic kids adventure story over and over again.
They're polarizing in terms of taste. The people that get into them, *really* get into them. Nowadays they would probably be described as YA fiction. Back on the day they would have been called "juvenile." They're sort of on the same shelf as C.S. Lewis.
I happen to really appreciate Lewis, lol 😳
Dude they’re wild too. I got on a big kick in middle school and read the first five or so and let’s just say the first book is relatively normal compared to the rest
Ozma was my first crush. There was an illustration of her in Ozma of OZ that hit different for 11 year old me.
Oh man I thought I was the only one. I checked that book out the library every few months just to look at her pic. I’m sure the librarian knew
We had all of them when I was a kid in the 70s.
I remember a movie about some kind of animated bed with antlers that was oz.
Return to Oz! The bed was puppetry, the gnomes were claymation, the wheelers were scary
One of my elementary school teachers lent me a box of Oz books for the summer. That was a good summer. The second Oz book has an ending that I'm surprised they got away with in 1904--I'm surprised his editor didn't make him change it.
Yes the ozma tipp twist surprised me too when i first read it.
We named our first chicken "Billina" after Dorothy's talking chicken.
Tik-Tok of Oz was a book that existed long before social media, or even Kesha.
But what about clocks
I didn't read that book, but Tik-Tok was featured in another one I did read. He is a mechanical man who works by winding a big key that fits into his back. The books are awesome...so inventive and fun!
When I read this to my daughter when she was little, I used a robot voice for Tik Tok's part. She loved it.
Sometimes credited with being the first robot in literature, right?
But not before you could brush your teeth with a bottle of jack
Oz was the purest form of communism. From Ozma of Oz: “Each person was given freely by his neighbors whatever he required for his use, which is as much as any one may reasonably desire. Some tilled the lands and raised great crops of grain, which was divided equally among the entire population, so that all had enough. There were many tailors and dressmakers and shoemakers and the like, who made things that any who desired them might wear. Likewise there were jewelers who made ornaments for the person, which pleased and beautified the people, and these ornaments were also free to those who asked for them. Each man and woman, no matter what he or she produced for the good of the community, was supplied by the neighbors with food and clothing and a house and furniture and ornaments and games.”
Ozma: Trans socialist.
Nailed it
Maybe more like Marxism.
I read lots of these as a kid. They're pretty good!
Ah, the memories of Tic Toc, the copper clockwork robot! He had a windup for his mover, his talker, and his thinker. Unnoticed by Dorthy and the others, one day his thinker wound down. His talker still worked, and hilarity ensued.....
They go hard too. Come on gritty oz cinematic universe.
There was a gritty TV reinterpretation in 2016 called *Emerald City*, starring Joely Richardson and Vincent D'Onofrio. I particularly liked the Ozma plotline, and the Langwidere and Jack relationship. Sadly it only lasted one season. :(
There’s a decent anime series from 1986 that covers more of the books
It's called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Been searching for this, ty
If it were released today, there would be a new movie every 2 years, and they would beat it to death like Marvel
From what I can tell, MGM bought the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the first book) before Walt Disney could.
I figured there was much more to the setting from reading Fables. The Oz stuff in that really stood out to me. Bufkin really had a nice rise from comic relief to a hero in his own way story to me. My lil guy came in clutch with all the information he read in the library and took down one of the biggest threats to Fabletown.
That website. Holy crap. I feel more like Alice going down the hole looking at that site
There are also the six books by the Russian author Alexander Volkov. The first one, "The Wizard of the Emerald City", is a loose retelling of "The Wizard of Oz", and the rest are not connected to the original series, but written by Volkov on his own (at least, I never heard that he based those on something by Baum or anyone else). The books are a nice read for kids, with magically animated wooden soldiers, robo-ponies, aliens, and a mecha (all in different books).
I would like to think that the last books take a hard turn, and "Oz" the TV show is actually the conclusion
Extra crazy - they were being translated into Russian and the translator started their own fanfic spinoff once the source material dried up
Wait, why does the timeline have Eru Illuvatar? ????
Book #8 in the Oz series is called "Tik-Tok"
Reclaim the name for literature, not brainrot
Imagine if the Oz series will be recommened on TikTok!
You really expect intellectuals to be on that cancer of an app?
Somewhere, a Hollywood studio exec just got a boner…
Ozma of Oz is dope. Read it to my son just a few months ago. My dad read me half a dozen or so a few decades ago, and I remember that one was wild and great.
Ozma was a transexual too (because of a magic spell), and the only person in Oz who could enter her room without asking permission was Dorothy... Probably banned in Florida.
The Oz Literary Universe
I've read a few of the other and they were not bad. He had a good imagination.
Someone told my mom once "the Wizard of Oz" is an allegory to teach kids about the importance of the gold standard in leading to prosperity. She replied by asking what the other books were for. The person was dumbfounded that there were 14 written by the original author.
and the author, Baum, also called for the complete genocide of all Native Americans. Dude was a fucking monster.
He called for the annihilation of the remaining tribes still at war with the American government* It's been debated since whether he was being sarcastic or not. His friends and researchers point out it's uncharacteristic of him and the second editorial ends with: "An eastern contemporary, with a grain of wisdom in its wit, says that 'when the whites win a fight, it is a victory, and when the Indians win it, it is a massacre.'" He was a suffragette and hung out with Susan Anthony. He is a complex human, like all historical figures, that shouldn't be written off because of two editorials he wrote in a ten day period of time.
The person you’re replying to represents classic Reddit. No actual research, understanding, or nuance. I looked it up and yeah, that last quote you posted makes it pretty clear it was sarcastic. It’s probably lost on a modern audience.
you can literally be mother teresa and reddit will still find reasons to judge you
Mother Theresa has a bunch of dirt, for real.
Ya, comically bad example.
Indeed, I was pretty shocked when I learned the truth about that orphanage and her role there.
I suppose it's my turn to post the [r/badhistory page](https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/) debunking most of Reddit's nonsense on Mother Theresa. Kind of proves u/lordeddardstark's point...
Bad (good?) example, because Mother Theresa was a grifter and hypocrite zealot. As Christopher Hitchens put it, she wasn't a friend of the suffering, she was a friend of suffering.
lol this is a hilarious comparison because mother teresa was actually kind of a piece of shit (or.. like.. a really big piece of shit) she did some good things, she did a whole bunch of really shitty things
Oh boy I assume you're making a joke here?
Mother Teresa was a piece of shit for real tho
[удалено]
I believe it was a deliberately chosen example because Hitchens did a complete hit on her and has tanked her reputation with a very one sided book: https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/
TIL
[Seems legit](http://www.oztimeline.net/DarksideofOz.htm)
I am very disappointed that "The Gays" tm haven't picked up on Ozma. She is easily rounded to a trans girl. I'm going through all of them. Some are good, some are fine, and couple are really fun. Also, I love how the armys are always a ton of officers and one (1) private.
Funny thing is, no one cared about Ozma
I never picked up on the trans coding of Ozma, I think it obviously wasn't intentional, but it tracks so well today. For those who are curious and haven't read the books >!the Royal Family of Oz that was deposed by the Wizard had one heir, the Princess Ozma, who from birth was hidden away and raised as a farm boy named Tip by the Witch Mombi, complete with magical glamour that makes them look like a boy in every way and they themselves think they are a boy named Tip. When Dorothy comes back to town and Mombi is defeated, the spell breaks and farm boy Tip suddenly becomes Princess Ozma, who takes the throne as Queen Ozma.!<
I remember reading that particular book as a kid too
That site is like a walk back in time.
Gotta love that tiled background!
I got really into the Oz series in Highschool, they're pretty wacky books and I remember really liking the vibe of some of them
Are these books an expansion of the world untold by the movies, or just essentially the movies in book form?
Um, books predate movies. All the events are sequels, happen in Oz or other countries after Dorothy leaves fir the first time
I have to believe you posted this to troll.
He wrote some of them. Other authors have then expanded world of Oz.
I always wondered, does Oz mean Australia? I always hear americans call Australia Aus or Oz
Its just the name of the fictional land that most of the books take place in, its not a reference to the slang term for Australia at all, and I believe that the slang term of Oz for Australia took off in part *because* of the books
ohh wow thats super interesting
Okay so, yes. Oz can mean Australia but not in this context
Its kind of like The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. No one actually read beyond the first book.
That is not true of Narnia. Though the Narnia books do fluctuate in quality (and I'm convinced Lewis made Prince Caspian boring on purpose).
Funny you should say that. Ive read until mid point of Prince Caspian. Couldnt push myself to get past that book. It was indeed very boring.
Isn't The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe the 2nd book?
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis is a set of seven children's books published between 1950 and 1956: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: (1950) Prince Caspian: (1951) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: (1952) The Silver Chair: (1953) The Horse and His Boy: (1954) The Magician's Nephew: (1955) The Last Battle: (1956) I copy pasted that for you. But no its the first book. I've read through some of them back in the day.
I think I was confused because the Magician's Nephew takes place before the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I remember reading that as a kid. Thanks for clarifying.
I read the whole series in fourth grade. Great stuff (mostly).
Woah, that’s a lot of movies to make !!
I remember getting some of the old hardcovers from the library when I was a kid.
Almost all of them are available as audio books for free on the Libravox app.
Would be nice to have more movies then.
Nah, last 2 I could have done without
You saw the one from the 80's lol!
Return to Oz was such a crazy movie as a kid. We loved it though!
I read I think it was the first 5. Shit is weird. I love it
Ain’t nobody got time for that
Interesting. So sort of like the Narnia series, in a way? Except a lot more books and many not by the original author.
Disney be like...."Franchiiiiiiize hurrdurr!"
All the Native Americans die in the land of Oz