The one written by Bob Thomas or Neal Gabler?
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Which is the better Disney biography....
- Thread starter TheBeatles
- Start date
3IAlienKid
Member
I liked the Bob Thomas book a lot. It's more of the "official" biography, or at least the one that got the Disney family's stamp of approval.
Haven't read Gabler's book yet (it's so long!). I hear it's quite thorough as he had access to the Disney Archives. I've read there's a bit more psychological analysis. And a lot of bloggers gave it pretty positive reviews, except for Diane Disney Miller who despises it.
Haven't read Gabler's book yet (it's so long!). I hear it's quite thorough as he had access to the Disney Archives. I've read there's a bit more psychological analysis. And a lot of bloggers gave it pretty positive reviews, except for Diane Disney Miller who despises it.
Wilt Dasney
Well-Known Member
I haven't read Thomas's book, but I enjoyed Gabler's a lot. Like the previous poster said, it's pretty lengthy, but the length allows him to go in depth on almost every aspect of Walt's life. There's just so much to get to that it never feels padded or overlong.
His psychological analysis gets a bit heavy-handed, I thought. He's constantly returning to the idea that Walt's desire for control was his primary motivation for every project. It's an interesting hypothesis and maybe even accurate, but Gabler seems a little too assured of his own conclusions.
That being said, the narrative structure is excellent. Everything gets its due time under the spotlight: from Walt's early struggles with the Alice comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to the creation of Mickey Mouse and the production of Snow White, on through the studio's period as essentially an industrial and military film producer during WWII, and then television, Disneyland, the World's Fair projects, and EPCOT (i.e., WDW)...it's all examined in great detail, with a healthy — but not fawning — respect for everything Walt and his people accomplished.
I'm curious to know, what has Diane Disney Miller had to say about Gabler's book?
His psychological analysis gets a bit heavy-handed, I thought. He's constantly returning to the idea that Walt's desire for control was his primary motivation for every project. It's an interesting hypothesis and maybe even accurate, but Gabler seems a little too assured of his own conclusions.
That being said, the narrative structure is excellent. Everything gets its due time under the spotlight: from Walt's early struggles with the Alice comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to the creation of Mickey Mouse and the production of Snow White, on through the studio's period as essentially an industrial and military film producer during WWII, and then television, Disneyland, the World's Fair projects, and EPCOT (i.e., WDW)...it's all examined in great detail, with a healthy — but not fawning — respect for everything Walt and his people accomplished.
I'm curious to know, what has Diane Disney Miller had to say about Gabler's book?
3IAlienKid
Member
"Mrs. Miller, 75, said she was also dismayed by “Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination,” a 2006 biography by Neal Gabler that included an unflattering look at his marriage..." -- from the NY Times 3/31/09.
I recall reading elsewhere she felt stabbed in the back by Gabler because she'd actually been interviewed by him for the book, but felt he put her father's personality traits in a negative light. A lot of his thesis involves ideas of how Walt's inner demons are what drove him to his multiple successes. Gabler himself is said to be a huge Disney fan and was a featured speaker at NFFC.
Here's a link to the full article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/movies/01disn.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss
kimmykimmy
New Member
I think they are both fantastic bios!
Another of my favorite books about Walt is How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams and Jim Denney.
It really delves into Walt's aspect on life and how he ran his studio.
I highly reccommend it!
Another of my favorite books about Walt is How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams and Jim Denney.
It really delves into Walt's aspect on life and how he ran his studio.
I highly reccommend it!
I am so torn on this one. So I went downstairs in my Enchanted Tiki Bar rec room and looked at my Walt Signature and asked it what he thought....LOL well I really did go and look at it before I typed this but I think Gab is a great book, long read but more for the Walt Enthusiast IMO. Thomas is a good bio, official, touches on everything but keeps the story goign smoothly.
So final thoughts....Gab for Walt nerds like me. Thomas for Walt Nerds and Mass appeal.
So final thoughts....Gab for Walt nerds like me. Thomas for Walt Nerds and Mass appeal.
Red devil
Member
Barrier's book was very good, not as in depth as Gablers obviously due to the length and focused more on the animation done under Walt's direction. Barrier's book also draws less unfavorable conclusions based on assumptions then Gablers book does. Both are a good read and provide a different and interesting perspective on Walt.
Camp
New Member
There is yet another biography worth mentioning and I am halfway through it now. Author is Mosely and it was published in 1985.
To this point I find it very even handed, noting the human flaws and high points of Walt's life and career.
I apprecaite the book recommendations.
If you are a fan of Walt Disney and want information that you know you can trust, then I definitely recommend you add this book to your collection and visit Mike’s always fascinating Web site at MichaelBarrier.com where he continues to unearth treasures of Disney history. This recommendation comes from a guy who has dozens of Walt Disney biographies in his personal library from foreign editions to unpublished versions (and trust me, they deserve to be unpublished) to children’s biographies.
David Roberts
Member
I only read the Bob Thomas Bio but it was a great read.
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
Bob Thomas' by a mile. I didn't even make it all the way through Gabler's. And since Diane Disney Miller hates it, I figure I didn't miss much. Read her comments here, and also Michael Barrier's, who also wrote a biography of Walt Disney: http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Essays/Diane_On_Gabler/Diane_On_Gabler.html While I haven't read Barrier's Disney book, I have read his excellent book about animation; I highly recommend it.
But even Gabler's beats Richard Schickel's outrage of a book "The Disney Version". I threw THAT one in the trash!
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
Oho, I have that one too! And you're right, it's excellent. I reread it every time I feel a little discouraged. I highly recommend it as well.
mharrington
Well-Known Member
I have the ones by both Thomas and Gabler. I also have one by Katherine Greene and Richard Greene.
Any one is great.
Any one is great.
mharrington
Well-Known Member
I just heard that Diane Disney Miller viewed Gabler's book on Walt as "slanderous", that he is always depicted negatively for some reason.
wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
It took me a while to read Gabler's book. I enjoyed it, but read it just for information. I censored the opinions from my mind as I read. I'm going to start the Thomas bio soon. Gabler's book is written in an easy to read manner. It is long and tedious, but it is good just for info. The choice of wording and tone he uses lead one to infer he doesn't always have the best view on Disney. I also felt like more of the crazy mythology surrounding Disney (being frozen; being anti-Semitic) needed clear addressing.
If you're interested, I put a review of the Thomas book in my blog. I enjoyed it, but felt that it could have been a bit more detailed. I haven't read the Gabler work, but can attest that it is double the length of the Thomas biography. :wave: