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."
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Chuck (4 out of 5 stars)