Rating: 
Summary: Poorly researched
Review: The book was easy to read and shows the many different sides to this complex man, and it fairly shows both the business side of things and his family side as well. I had hoped for a few more pictures, but was still enthralled with the book. As a member of the Disney Company, I am constantly looking for more information on the man behind this multi-mass-media empire. I recommend the book to anyone who isn't looking for the sugar-coated version of this brilliant man's life.
Rating: 
Summary: Shows dirt, but is fair...
Review: The book was easy to read and shows the many different sides to this complex man, and it fairly shows both the business side of things and his family side as well. I had hoped for a few more pictures, but was still enthralled with the book. As a member of the Disney Company, I am constantly looking for more information on the man behind this multi-mass-media empire. I recommend the book to anyone who isn't looking for the sugar-coated version of this brilliant man's life.
Rating: 
Summary: Walt Disney, the genious and the human
Review: This book is amazing. It is as good as Bob Thomas' Walt Disney: An American Original. In fact, two books are almost similar, except that Mosley emphasizes the human side of Walt's. Bob Thomas describes the human side, but emphasizes the genious side.
When you have both of these books, you have a life of a true genious and just a human being, Walt Disney, in your hands.
Incredible details, personal and professional life...
Just beautful job.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, I don't know...
Review: This book is good, OK, but is not the best. As a biography it starts good, telling about all the early years and how did Walt Disney progressed into what he finnaly became. But as the book goes on, it starts focusing more on Disney's way of treating (or "mistreating") the people who worked for him, his moods, and the "dirty rags", rather than facts concerning his work. I don't say that Mosley only speaks bad about Disney, there's a lot of praising and good stuff too, but I couldn't help myself noticing the emphasis he puts on showing Disney's ..."bad side". Like for example, he wrote that his second daughter was adopted. Thats fine, that's a fact. But from that moment on, every single time he mentioned her was "his adopted daughter Sharon this..." or "Sharon, the adopted one that..." I mean, hello! We got it the first time, thanks! He worried so much in showing how he wasn't perfect, that he neglected a lot of other stuff.
...And there's a lot of details. For example, by the end of the book, talking about what has become of Walt Disney Studio since Disney's death, he wrote: "The studio is now so 'adult' that at any moment they are likely to show a computer-animated Pluto having intercourse with one of the 101 Dalmatians." I mean, were comments like that really necesary?
But, there's a good side of this book, too. Not being the official biography, it was able to show things that are not so commonly allowed, like the fact that Sharon Disney was adopted (although saying it once would have been enough!), or Walt's interest in (and the rumors about) cryogenesis. But does that make it worth it? I really don't know.
Anyway, here's my advise: if you want a really good biography of Walt Disney, don't get this one. Go find Bob Thomas' "Walt Disney: an american original". Now that's a good book. This one's just OK.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic Disney Biography
Review: This is a great biography of Walt Disney, and in many ways it is similar to Bob Thomas's biography "Disney: An American Original." Both books emphasize Walt's early Midwest childhood, his strict father and good-natured mother, and his experience in WWI in shaping the young man he became. The two biographies are different in their perceptions of Disney, and it could make a difference for you, dear reader, regarding which one you want to read first. I would describe Mosley's biography as "more realistic" than Thomas's, but I would say that Bob Thomas's was more inspiring to read. Mosley doesn't hesitate to describe Walt as an ill-tempered ringleader who suffered from emotional instability in his early adulthood, whereas Bob Thomas's portrays such behavior in a more favorable light and seems to grant that it is the stuff of genius. One very clear example: Mosley describes Walt's suicide attempt at 31 where Lillian Disney found her husband out cold with sleeping pills and booze, called a doctor, and had Walt's stomach pumped. In Bob Thomas's book, there is no mention of this incident whatsoever. Both books describe Disney as an inspiration to the people around him, but I think Mosley's goes more in-depth into Walt's character and describes more thoroughly some of the difficulties associated with working with him. What Mosley describes as "overbearing," Thomas would call "entrepreneurial." What Mosley would call "unstable," Bob Thomas would call "emotionally invigorating." The point is: the subject is the same; it's the perception of the subject that's different in the two biographies. I think both do a great service to the world in representing quite possibly the most influential voice in 20th century entertainment. It's a fascinating reading, and it will excite you to explore your own creativity. Walt Disney was a man that would risk everything to make people laugh, to entertain, to push the medium of film, cartoons, and theme parks to a level unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. He truly was an inspiration, and, of course, I hope this review is helpful to you! Stacey Cochran
Rating:
Summary: Realistic Disney Biography
Review: This is a great biography of Walt Disney, and in many ways it is similar to Bob Thomas's biography "Disney: An American Original." Both books emphasize Walt's early Midwest childhood, his strict father and good-natured mother, and his experience in WWI in shaping the young man he became. The two biographies are different in their perceptions of Disney, and it could make a difference for you, dear reader, regarding which one you want to read first. I would describe Mosley's biography as "more realistic" than Thomas's, but I would say that Bob Thomas's was more inspiring to read. Mosley doesn't hesitate to describe Walt as an ill-tempered ringleader who suffered from emotional instability in his early adulthood, whereas Bob Thomas's portrays such behavior in a more favorable light and seems to grant that it is the stuff of genius. One very clear example: Mosley describes Walt's suicide attempt at 31 where Lillian Disney found her husband out cold with sleeping pills and booze, called a doctor, and had Walt's stomach pumped. In Bob Thomas's book, there is no mention of this incident whatsoever. Both books describe Disney as an inspiration to the people around him, but I think Mosley's goes more in-depth into Walt's character and describes more thoroughly some of the difficulties associated with working with him. What Mosley describes as "overbearing," Thomas would call "entrepreneurial." What Mosley would call "unstable," Bob Thomas would call "emotionally invigorating." The point is: the subject is the same; it's the perception of the subject that's different in the two biographies. I think both do a great service to the world in representing quite possibly the most influential voice in 20th century entertainment. It's a fascinating reading, and it will excite you to explore your own creativity. Walt Disney was a man that would risk everything to make people laugh, to entertain, to push the medium of film, cartoons, and theme parks to a level unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. He truly was an inspiration, and, of course, I hope this review is helpful to you! Stacey Cochran
Rating:
Summary: A well rounded biography
Review: Walt Disney's name has become a household word. Wholesome entertainment and DisneyLand and Disney World come to mind. This book is a well rounded look at the man. Neither Saint nor Sinner this book sees Walt as a well rounded human being. Many pictures are included. Many celebrities were interviewed including Hayley Mills. The book seems to be well documented and is quite interesting..
Rating:
Summary: A well rounded biography
Review: Walt Disney's name has become a household word. Wholesome entertainment and DisneyLand and Disney World come to mind. This book is a well rounded look at the man. Neither Saint nor Sinner this book sees Walt as a well rounded human being. Many pictures are included. Many celebrities were interviewed including Hayley Mills. The book seems to be well documented and is quite interesting..
Rating:
Summary: Revealing
Review: When was young my impression was probably like most other kids that Walt was responsible for everything that Disney made and that he was without sin. Well this book pretty much shatters that image, yes Walt was involved in every picture Disney made and he had the final word, but there were so many talented artists and writers that got no credit whatsoever and without them Disney would not be what it is today. It is a private look at man that is both willing to show he genuis as well as his faults as a human being.
|
