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Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination Audiobook
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(4.01) - 1,416 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
If you've always found yourself fascinated with the life and achievements of Walt Disney, you've undoubtedly longed to "meet" the man behind the magic. In Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, that's exactly what you will get. This well-researched biography does a fantastic job of introducing us to Walt Disney, and it provides an inside look into the creative mind of the man who has captivated the hearts and minds of millions worldwide for decades.
Over the years, many myths have been developed regarding Walt Disney, and the type of man he was. Finally, fans of Disney will gain complete understanding, as they venture back to his childhood and relive some of the events that helped to shape Walt Disney into the man he would become - focused on innovation and eager to create something out of what looked like nothing to the average observer.
Walt Disney was certainly an innovative thinker. His obsessive nature and willful determination is largely responsible for the creation of modern animation. His first animated character, Mickey Mouse, is still an icon for young and old alike, all around the world. As we all know, Walt Disney refused to stop there. He was always pushing for more, and working to be better. His drive produced animated films like Snow White, Pinocchio and Fantasia. His vision for a better animation resulted in films that were a beautiful depiction of real life, as opposed to the poor creation they had been in the past.
In addition to the unique glimpse into how Walt Disney created his magical animated characters and the theme parks that are still world-famous to this day, Neal Gabler gives us a wonderful look at the Walt Disney that didn't appear before a camera. His anxiety, his disappointments and his loneliness all played a part in creating a man who was almost constantly in the public eye, yet suffered in silence. If you've heard rumors about Walt Disney, this is a great book to find some real answers to some questions you might have had your entire life.
Neal Gabler is a journalist who has been credited with contributions to an incredible amount of publications. Among them, The New York Times and Vogue, both sing his praises as an insightful writer with a knack for capturing the truth. That fact was not lost in the penning of Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Gabler's career has included a stint as a panelist on Fox News, time spent teaching at the University of Michigan and Penn State, and a total of four books.
"I really liked this book. I felt like Disney had the creative geninus that has more recently brought us Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. He was not satisfied with achieving one goal, but created one larger than the last. It seems like he chased new opportunities that seemed like they would be fun for him and left the repetition of past achievements to others."
— Chuck (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
The definitive portrait of one of the most important cultural figures in American history: Walt Disney.
Walt Disney was a true visionary whose desire for escape, iron determination and obsessive perfectionism transformed animation from a novelty to an art form, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films–most notably Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In his superb biography, Neal Gabler shows us how, over the course of two decades, Disney revolutionized the entertainment industry. In a way that was unprecedented and later widely imitated, he built a synergistic empire that combined film, television, theme parks, music, book publishing, and merchandise. Walt Disney is a revelation of both the work and the man–of both the remarkable accomplishment and the hidden life.
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography
USA Today Biography of the Year
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Walt Disney Listener Reviews
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" I'd recommend this biography to anyone interested in a very detailed look at the career of a man who helped shape the US popular culture from the 1930's - 1960's. His impact on animation, television and family entertainment, for better or worse, cannot be denied. "
— Tracey, 2/11/2014 -
" inciteful book. this was a seriously driven man.he never attained the dream, his life appears to be lonely because of his unique ideals "
— Maureen, 1/24/2014 -
" Really interesting, in-depth view of Disney's life. "
— Michelle, 1/20/2014 -
" Reading for the second time - really a great book! "
— Travis, 1/15/2014 -
" Great comprehensive study of WED, but exhausting. By the end feels more like a catalouge of every meeting he every attended than a story. "
— Richard, 1/9/2014 -
" Fascinating look at Walk Disney's life and work. Chronicles his childhood through death and the drive for perfection and story that motivated him to the end. "
— Nathan, 1/4/2014 -
" exhaustive look at Walt's life "
— Ben, 12/27/2013 -
" Not bad. Gabler goes pretty soft on Uncle Walt, but it's a reasonably good portrait of a man so complex that two or three additional volumes would be needed to do him justice. "
— Chris, 12/13/2013 -
" Definitive. There are hundreds of biographies of Disney, but this is the one to read. "
— Richard, 11/28/2013 -
" I finished it -- WOOT! "
— Sarah, 9/15/2013 -
" Awesome book on one of my idols. "
— Christopher, 8/2/2013 -
" Just a great book, from start to finish. Wonderful pacing, a warts-and-all look at one of the most imaginative thinkers and doers of the 20th century. "
— Michael, 4/27/2013 -
" This was a labor of love - of all things Disney! One of the best biographies I have read about Uncle Walt. The author did not seem to have either a pro or con hidden agenda. Lots of facts, details, etc. I do have to admit that I shed a tear at the end when Disney died. What an amazing man! "
— Linda, 3/1/2013 -
" It was good, but it was very dark. I just don't buy that Walt Disney was that big of an a-hole. Maybe he was. "
— Sidemoss, 2/21/2013 -
" I grew up watching Walt on TV, and years later lived down the street from Disneyland. So this was a natural. Walt was a very complicated character, very different in a lot of ways from the congenial "Uncle Walt" that we saw on TV. No bombshells, but an interesting psychological study. "
— Christine, 3/8/2012 -
" If you're at all interested in the man who created an entertainment empire, this highly detailed biography is well worth your time. A fascinatingly in-depth look at the man who helped shape American culture in the last century. "
— Michael, 12/31/2011 -
" Really good book about the man and his life. It doesn't pull any punches and I devoured it's 600 pages in about a week. "
— Dorian, 11/11/2011 -
" I REALLY enjoyed this book. "
— Elizabeth, 10/17/2011 -
" This is a excellent book for those who really want to know who Walt Disney was. "
— Thomas, 10/17/2011 -
" A fascinating man. "
— Liann, 10/1/2011 -
" intriguing and inspiring so far! "
— Jacob, 9/3/2011 -
" One of the best complete bios of Walt. The good, the bad and the genius. It is a must read for all who want to try to understand this amazing man just a bit. "
— Deirdre, 8/31/2011 -
" Best bio of Walt I found, major source for a paper I wrote for history. The thing that impressed me most about Disney was his tendency to hark back to the past as well as his enthusiasm for the technology of the future. I totally share that mindset. "
— Bri, 5/6/2011 -
" Really good book about the man and his life. It doesn't pull any punches and I devoured it's 600 pages in about a week. "
— Dorian, 5/5/2011 -
" One of the best complete bios of Walt. The good, the bad and the genius. It is a must read for all who want to try to understand this amazing man just a bit. "
— Deirdre, 4/17/2011 -
" True genius and visionary!!! Walt once said "If you can dream it, you can do it" "
— Hashim, 4/3/2011 -
" One of the best books I've read....One of the most interesting lives in American history... "
— Case, 4/1/2011 -
" Love reading about Walt Disney's life. This is going to be a good one. "
— Aaron, 2/24/2011 -
" Loved this Biography. Gave some great insight into what happened to make Walt decide to do his studio. "
— Jessie, 1/23/2011 -
" This was quite interesting. Disney was an incredible innovator...any one of his achievements would cap a life's work. Listened to this in the car on a round trip to New England and that format worked extremely well. "
— John, 1/19/2011 -
" I've actually only read parts, but I heard about nearly every chapter in detail from my wife as she read it. Everything she read (and I heard) and we discussed was inspiring and engaging. Whatever his faults, Disney really did understand the wish our heart makes and why we need to pursue it. "
— Steve, 1/13/2011 -
" Just a great book, from start to finish. Wonderful pacing, a warts-and-all look at one of the most imaginative thinkers and doers of the 20th century. "
— Michael, 11/27/2010 -
" It was good, but it was very dark. I just don't buy that Walt Disney was that big of an a-hole. Maybe he was. "
— Sidemoss, 10/5/2010
About Neal Gabler
Neal Gabler is a journalist. He works as a professor for the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton. He graduated from Lane High School in Chicago, Illinois, and was inducted into the National Honor Society. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan and holds advanced degrees in film and American culture.
About Arthur Morey
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.