Best book on Walt Disney

pumpkin7

pumpkin7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
hello! it's my birthday in a few weeks, and i was wondering, whats the best book, or the best book in your opinion on walt disney? i unfortunately have never had the chance to go to the attraction at DHS, so would much like a book to read.

any ideas anyone? thanks :)

or, actually, on the parks/building of the parks/history of the parks etc. thanks :)
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
pumpkin7 said:
hello! it's my birthday in a few weeks, and i was wondering, whats the best book, or the best book in your opinion on walt disney? i unfortunately have never had the chance to go to the attraction at DHS, so would much like a book to read.

any ideas anyone? thanks :)

or, actually, on the parks/building of the parks/history of the parks etc. thanks :)
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Hiya! I've read several books on Walt, and IMO, the best, most accurate and trustworthy book by far is the one by Bob Thomas entitled "Walt Disney: An American Original". It is well-researched, unbiased (which is important; too many books about Walt have an axe to grind) and thorough.

By all means, avoid the recent book by Neal Gabler. Walt's daughter Diane had a very low opinion of it; she went so far as to scold the current Disney administration for going along with it. I have read it, and it seems to me that Gabler left out chunks of history in order to paint a particular type of picture of Walt, the kind of picture a certain political point of view loves. If you've ever watched Family Guy, you'll know what I mean. :rolleyes:
 
216bruce

216bruce

Well-Known Member
Michael Barrier's book on Walt is very good; either that one or the Thomas book would be my choice. Gabler's gets a lot of bad word-of-mouth (mostly because Walt's daughter doesn't like it) and there are some inaccuracies in it, but it is very thorough and looks at Walt in a more 'warts and all' way. I enjoyed it also- but it is quite long. For a first look at Walt- the Barrier or Thomas book. There are a lot of books out there. Have you considered the "official" dvd on Walt? It may be out of print, but it's a great introduction with a lot of wonderful footage of him and extremely well made. You might want to start with this and then read a book on him.
 
C

Coach81

New Member
I'm currently reading "Vault of Walt" the author worked with Walt for many years and tells some of the "inside" stories about Walt, the features, and the parks. It is OK.. but not the best.. thanks for this thread. I will be loading the American Original into my Kindle as soon as I am finished with the Vault.
 
dave&di

dave&di

Well-Known Member
Coach81 said:
I'm currently reading "Vault of Walt" the author worked with Walt for many years and tells some of the "inside" stories about Walt, the features, and the parks. It is OK.. but not the best.. thanks for this thread. I will be loading the American Original into my Kindle as soon as I am finished with the Vault.
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I asked for this book for Christmas but never found it in my stocking! I shall get the Bob Thomas one I think instead.

I have 'DISNEYWAR' by James.B.Stewart but have never bothered reading it, anyone else read it? What did you think?
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
I'll pipe in for Gabler's book. I enjoyed it for its thoroughness and length (although I guess that could be a minus for some readers); it definitely has a point of view, but I don't think it's an unfairly negative one. To me, the level of detail included is worth having to put up with a bit of Gabler's attempted psychoanalysis of a man who's been dead over 40 years. :)
 
ajt5027

ajt5027

Member
dave&di said:
I asked for this book for Christmas but never found it in my stocking! I shall get the Bob Thomas one I think instead.

I have 'DISNEYWAR' by James.B.Stewart but have never bothered reading it, anyone else read it? What did you think?
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Disney War is awesome, but has very little to do with Walt. It chronicles the Eisner era, from Roy's boardroom coup to bring him in to his coup to get him out. Great commentary on Frank Wells, Michael Ovitz and Jeffery Katzenberg. If your interested in Disney in the 90's this is a must read.

I've read pretty much every book I've found on Walt or the Disney Company. The best biography of Walt by far is Walt Disney: An American Original.

Ive even read Walt Disney: Hollywoods Dark Prince by Marc Elliot. This is the book that started the rumor Walt was a communist. I read it to understand why some people feel the way they do about Walt.
 
dave&di

dave&di

Well-Known Member
ajt5027 said:
Disney War is awesome, but has very little to do with Walt. It chronicles the Eisner era, from Roy's boardroom coup to bring him in to his coup to get him out. Great commentary on Frank Wells, Michael Ovitz and Jeffery Katzenberg. If your interested in Disney in the 90's this is a must read.

I've read pretty much every book I've found on Walt or the Disney Company. The best biography of Walt by far is Walt Disney: An American Original.

Ive even read Walt Disney: Hollywoods Dark Prince by Marc Elliot. This is the book that started the rumor Walt was a communist. I read it to understand why some people feel the way they do about Walt.
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Thanks for the info, I will get round to it at some point, there are so many Disney books around its hard to know which one are fact.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
I'm currently reading the Neal Gabler book.. and so far I don't have that high of an opinion of it.

Overly fluffy words... too much 'snip' quotes rather then words in their full context. Lots of his words.. mixed into quotes of someone else's.. etc.

It also has a pretty antagonistic tone. It also seems have skipped through much of Walt's early life.. only dedicating about 50 pages to it.

Bob Thomas's book goes into more detail, with better context, and less 'skeptical' tone throughout.

Vault of Walt is interesting... but I really didn't take that much away from it. The Mouse Tales books and Jack Linquist's new book is a lot more interesting if you want Tales about the parks. Tho Vault of Walt talks more about some of the movies, and Live Action movie stories then other books I have come across so far.
 
T

tilina123

New Member
Over 35 years after his death, Walt Disney is still inspiring authors to research and write biographies about this remarkable man. While each book below has its own different take on Walt, any one of them will give you a great read.
Walt Disney: An American Original
Walt Disney: An American Original

by Bob Thomas

This is the first major Walt Disney biography, written (with the cooperation of the Disney family) in the early '70s.
New york mural
 
Silverwaste

Silverwaste

New Member
Hello,
I'm new around here.
Considering your opinions in the previously mentioned books, which would you say balances reliable and enjoyable material? I want to ask one of the these on Christmas but I don't want a reading in the line of unmasking and emphasis on flaws. Although historically accurate, I search a book that doesn't fit some descriptions of the Neal Gabler one - cheap psychological analysis. If there is such book around, I'd love an insight both in Walt Disney's personality & story and the company itself.
Thank you.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
Silverwaste said:
Hello,
I'm new around here.
Considering your opinions in the previously mentioned books, which would you say balances reliable and enjoyable material? I want to ask one of the these on Christmas but I don't want a reading in the line of unmasking and emphasis on flaws. Although historically accurate, I search a book that doesn't fit some descriptions of the Neal Gabler one - cheap psychological analysis. If there is such book around, I'd love an insight both in Walt Disney's personality & story and the company itself.
Thank you.
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The Bob Thomas book fits your need I think. Goes into his childhood, the start of the studios, and lots of his non-park stuff. If you want more about what's INSIDE the parks specifically - you'll have to goto other books. Jack Linquist's book is a good read in terms of the culture/environment of the park and Disney himself during the 50s and 60s.
 
Silverwaste

Silverwaste

New Member
Thank you!
See, it's not that I don't care about the parks - I find they truly fascinating but not to the same extent as the other aspects, by now. My focus is the history and what it took to build it. Just a final question, why "An American Original" over "The Animated Man"? I was nearly going for it.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
I haven't read 'The Animated Man' - but from reading about it, it seems more focused on the Studios business, and less about Walt's wider scope. He apparently takes a pretty critical stab at Walt as well. I'm not one for 'all roses' point of views, but if it's similar to the Gabler book.. I found the Bob Thomas book easier to read. It's not fluffy, it is focused, and stays on track. I'd start with the Bob Thomas book and then add others for flavor as you desire :)
 
Silverwaste

Silverwaste

New Member
Thank you for your advice.
I'd to love to know about the Studios business but I'm not interested in the purposeful harsh material. Like you, I'm not for "all roses" analysis but I don't want to deal one of those biographies that want to prove the person wasn't nothing special, just human, very flawed and so, needs to be put down. Maybe the other two aren't like that but as a starting point, I think "An American Original" will be just the fit. And again, as you've said, I might add later "The Animated Man".
Thanks again.
 

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