Everything Walt

AliceinWonderland

New Member
Original Poster
Walt Disney is my favorite topic! I am interested in learning everything I can about him,
and his life. Anyone willing to share how the find information on Walt? It can be frustrating
when limited information is available or just hard to hunt down.

Thanks!
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
There is plenty of information out there. Some starters:

Walt Disney: An American Original
by Bob Thomas
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire by Bob Thomas
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler
The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier
The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life by Steven Watts
The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney by Richard Schickel
Walt Disney and the Quest for Community by Steve Mannheim
Walt and the Promise of Progress City by Sam Gennawey

The Walt Disney Family Museum, waltdisney.org
 

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
Lazyboy has a good list, but I'd skip "The Disney Version" by Richard Schickel and Neal Gabler's book. In the case of the former, it's pretty much a hatchet job (it weeps giant tears over Art Babbitt's participation in the notorious Disney Studios strike), and as for the latter, Walt's daughter Diane hated Gabler's book - she even ripped the suits at Disney a new one for supporting it. I'd recommend Bob Thomas' book as the best of the bunch. He actually interviewed Walt several times, and had free-rein access to company transcripts and records, Disney family members and former Disney employees as he wrote his book. It's the gold standard of Disney biographies.
 

216bruce

Well-Known Member
Agreed on Schickel's piece o' garbage but the Gabler book isn't really bad at all. It's only negative in the latter few years of his life and even then it only paints him as a human being. Much of it's source material is very valid and is from a HUGE variety of sources. Diane hated the book, but there have been good comments from other folks who knew Walt about it. It's the only Walt bio I've read twice and I still think the world of the man, maybe moreso after reading it.
The Bob Thomas book is a great first read on Walt for someone. If you want to move up to Gabler's after that (it's a huge book) I really, with much respect to the Panther, recommend it. If you are an animation nut then by all means read Michael Barrier's book as it beats any of the others with regard to Walt and animation, but is nowhere near as thorough in some other aspects of his life and career.
 

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