Wizard

“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.” L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There are a lot of great quotes from the Wizard of Oz that I either have forgotten or didn’t realize.

Lyman Frank Baum was a prolific writer producing 50 plus novels, 83 short stories, and over 200 poems, not counting the number of scripts. He was most famous for his children’s books of which The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being the most critically acclaimed. Published in 1900, it stayed on the best seller list for two years

What I didn’t know is there are 13 other novels in the Oz series based on the places and people of Oz. A co-worker of mine had actually read them all. As he describes them, there were some weird and funny places in Oz. “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The other books in the Oz series were published between 1904 and 1920. The last book, Glinda of Oz, published posthumously. “There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.”

What I also didn’t know was Baum also referenced wireless telephones in the book Tik-Tok of Oz. In his books outside the Oz series he mentions things like the television and laptops. “If we walk far enough,” says Dorothy, “we shall sometime come to someplace.”

I’m not sure I have an interested in reading all the books but it is nice to know they exist. “There is no place like home.”

Some other quotes that I like.

“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t you think?”

“It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool.”

“Have you brains?” asked the scarecrow. “I suppose. I’ve never looked to see,” replied the lion.