Anti Disney Books

[hrcollectibles]

I know I know who would want to read a book against Disney. but I was wondering if anyone had a list or can recommend some books. I am currently reading Disney The Mouse Betrayed. It was published in the late 90's but has a lot of information I never knew. I also have the Disney War Which I have yet to read. Any know of any other books that perhaps shine some light on the Underbelly of Disney.

 

[Atomicmickey]

I've read a couple of "Intellectual" anti-Disney books, that I found pretty interesting. Here are some links to some books on my book collection site, LibraryThing

Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World, The Project on Disney

Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World And America (Institutional Structures of Feeling)

I thought they were both interesting and entertaining, seeing how people reject "Disneyfication" and observe the culture and mores of a Theme Park, and Disney's particular take on things. Snotty, academic, sometimes right, and interesting to read.

There's the widely discredited

Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince

And another that isn't always complimentary

The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney

That's a few, anyway. Interested to hear of any others that folks know about.

 

[Shere_Khan]

I just bought the Animated Man because I was looking for a bio on Walt Disney and the reviews on Amazon were very good. I am not one for biographies so I decided against that 800 page one by Neil Gabler and was looking for something that had some good info and was more of an easy read.
However - I told some friends of mine and they freaked out saying the guy who wrote Animated Man is totally biased against Disney and I should be careful in what I take as truth. Which I think is silly. I am not going to read it and all of a sudden hate Disney. I am not afraid to read some not so great opinions about him along with the great.
So I guess what I am trying to say is I have heard this book is not just about how exceptional he is. Although I have not yet read it but it is next on my list. If anyone has read this I am interested to know the opinions on it and if my friends were correct.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Oh! You mentioned DisneyWar, that was a great book, not anti-Disney, but
certainly tells it like it is.

The run-up to that, the crisis that faced the company before Eisner, is
chronicled in

Storming the Magic Kingdom: How Corporate Raiders Forced a Revolution at Disney

If you are into corporate shenanigans.

 

[Atomicmickey]

The Neal Gabler biography is EXCELLENT. Don't avoid it because it's long.

 

[Shere_Khan]

The Neal Gabler biography is EXCELLENT. Don't avoid it because it's long.

Oh I am sure it is and it's not that I don't want to read it. I just mainly read fantasy/fiction and have never really read alot of history/nonfiction/biography stuff. Thought I would ease into it before trying something very informative and long. But thank you for the recommendation because after I see how I like this one, hopefully, I will try that one to get the different perspectives.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

All I know about the author of The Animated Man (Michael something, forget his last name) is that he has a biiiiiig axe to grind with Neal Gabler over his Disney book. He has a whole page on his site talking about how sloppy and riddled with errors Gabler's book is. From the best I can tell, the guy seems annoyed that Gabler's book got a lot of publicity, while his fell through the cracks, relatively speaking.

Personally I enjoyed Gabler's book, and think the length is about right for all the things that need examining in Walt's life.

 

[marni1971]

Team Rodent is a good one for a laugh by Carl Hiaasen

 

[DznyGrlSD]

My BFF on the College Program wrote "Mousecatraz" and it's a funny look at the Disney College Program. Speaking of - I need to read it again

 

[Mr Toad]

My BFF on the College Program wrote "Mousecatraz" and it's a funny look at the Disney College Program. Speaking of - I need to read it again

Think I'll pick up Mousecatraz...I know people that have been thru that program.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Keep 'em coming--my Amazon shopping cart is filling up! :lol:

The Kevin Yee and Devid Koenig books are fun behind the scenes park books, that are obviously affectionate but don't pull punches. I think

Mouse Tales: A Behind-The-Ears Look at Disneyland

Is probably the most fun.

 

[Atomicmickey]

There's always this book.

or this one.

NOTE: Books do not exist. It's all for fun. I made these graphics for another forum showing that there's no end to the books that could be made about details in Disney World.:lol:

 

[brkgnews]

AtomicMickey, I'd buy em. :lookaroun

They'd fit right in with my obscenely huge collection.

Not necessarily anti-Disney, but at least somewhat critical or not-full-of-pixie-dust, are...

"Married to the Mouse" - about the land deals and what was offered up in exchange.

"Florida's Disney World: Promises and Problems" - very hard to find, but it's neat because it features extensive newspaper clippings and critique that was published at the time of the Florida land grab.

You can find info, ISBN numbers, etc for them in my collection here...
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/brkgnews

 

[brkgnews]

BTW, AtomicMickey... though you jest, something like the pavement book wouldn't be that far from impossible in the "Disney in Detail" series... They're typically 30ish-page paperback books spotlighting a tiny aspect of the Disney parks. The most recent is one about Finding Nemo in the Disney Parks. And another supposedly in the works for a summer release is "Window on Main Street."

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Team Rodent is a good one for a laugh by Carl Hiaasen

That's the one I have, and was going to recommend.:lol: Never laughed so hard in my life.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Woohoo! Another LibraryThing member! That's what I made those
images for, for some people that were all agog over a few people's love
for Disney Details.

Yeah, I was semi-serious about the pavement book.

Someone had posted a pic of some rocks in Disney, somewhere, and it
started a mad search to try to figure out where they were. It occurred
to me that pavement theming is a big deal when you think of it, and that
there was a tiny market for such a thing.

For a while there, I was thinking about tax deductible trips and a new
camera!

The stains book, well. Maybe not so much, lol. Chapter 3: Epic Protein Spills, might be a tough read.:lol:

 

[fosse76]

The two Mouse Tales books are fun reads. Not anti-Disney, they do paint some management types in a not-so-pleasant light. It's a book about things that happened at Disneyland. Anyone who worked at a theme park would really enjoy them, and anyone who hasn't will get a good account of what it's like to work at a theme park.

 

[SeaBreeze]

That's the one I have, and was going to recommend.:lol: Never laughed so hard in my life.

I was going to recommend that one too :lol: Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite authors and he came to my school to speak/sign books so I got Team Rodent...and left two weeks later for my PI at WDW :drevil:

 

[MKCP 1985]

I have a shelf of books on Walt Disney but the only one I'd never want to lose is Jack Kinney's. :king:

Kinney, if you don't know, was an animator and director in the Walt Disney Studios and he worked on numerous features, including Dumbo and Pinocchio, and many of the Goofy "How to. . . " shorts. Sadly, he passed away several years ago.

"Walt Disney and Assorted Other Characters, An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney's" is usually available for cheap on Amazon.

 

[Chrononymous]

Aww nuts. Doesn't exist? I would SO buy that book about the pavement at WDW, Atomicmickey!
Espeically if it was a big sprawling coffee table book.

My family makes fun of me, because I always notice (and take photos of) all the pavement surfaces!