Introduction

L. Frank Baum’s timeless classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first uniquely American fairy tale. A combination of enchanting fantasy and piercing social commentary, this remarkable story has entertained and beguiled readers of all ages since it was first published in 1900. Ray Bradbury writes in his Introduction, “Both [Baum and Shakespeare] lived inside their heads with a mind gone wild with wanting, wishing, hoping, shaping, dreaming,” and it is this same hunger that makes all of us continue to seek out the story of Oz—and be nourished by it.

This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the definitive first edition and includes the New York Times review of that edition as well as the original Preface by the author.