Before Judy Garland, red slippers, the music of Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, and technicolor, there was, 39 years earlier, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (no relation), illustrated by W.W. Denslow, the first and only blockbuster book in the 14-volume Oz series. Eclipsed by the Hollywood movie the Library of Congress notes as “the most watched film ever,” the book invites (re) reading because of its slightly darker content, reflection of its time, extraordinary staying power, and prompt to explore the differences between two great classics – the book and the movie, both marvelous. (Hold the red slippers, though, they’re silver in the book.) Please join us for a free and free-wheeling ZOOM talk on the book, sponsored by The Southampton History Museum and The Amagansett Free Library
