The world of Oz has given joy to countless generations of children; the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City has become part of American culture.Before he published The Wonderful Wizard of Ozz Baum tried acting, sales, and newspaper work without much success. Neither he nor his publisher had total confidence in Oz, but it promptly became a bestseller and has remained so ever since. Baum went on to write 13 more Oz books, while pursuing success in the theater and becoming involved in the early movie business in Southern California. atharine Rogers has written an eminently readable biography which grounds Baums imaginative creations in the reality of his day. She also traces his remarkable early support for feminismall his heroes are self-reliant girls, and his good rulers all femaleto the influence of his beloved mother-in-law, the suffragist leader Matilda Gage.