American Experience, American Oz

PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Monday, April 3, at 9 PM

Tuesday, April 4, at 2 AM

When L. Frank Baum published “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900, he was 44 years old and had spent much of his life in restless pursuit of his American dream. 

After working and failing at a string of odd jobs that honed his instincts for showmanship, Baum and his family headed west in 1888 from their home in Syracuse, NY. During his travels from Chicago to the Great Plains, he witnessed a nation coming to terms with the economic uncertainty of the Gilded Age. But he never lost his childlike sense of wonder and eventually crafted his observations into an enduring, magical tale of survival, adventure and self-discovery.