Over the Rainbow: The Wizard of Oz as a Secular Myth of America (SUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship) - Hardcover

"It is a most fascinating text reflecting an interest in the psychological, historical, sociological, and analytical approaches to film and religious studies. It presents a refreshing and in-depth study of this landmark film with extensive scholarship. Nathanson includes myriad bits of information that lie behind the scenes of the production itself and its historical context." -- John J. Michalczyk, Boston College

"The strength of this book is the thoroughness and imaginativeness with which the author approaches and covers the subject -- and every area is treated with an innovative approach. I know it will be something of a landmark in film-culture studies." -- Ray B. Browne, Department of Popular Culture, Bowling Green State University

Over the Rainbow shows how Dorothy's passage from Kansas to Oz and back again recapitulates paradigmatic stories of both America and Christianity. Defining human identity on three symbolic levels (individual, collective, and cosmic), Nathanson shows that The Wizard of Oz has come to be a "secular myth."