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Rating: 
Summary: If You're Only Going to Own One Disney Biography...
Review: ...This is the one. This biography does an incredible job of placing Walt Disney the man (and his works) in historical, social, and cultural context. Not only does Watts provide a balanced examination of Walt Disney--something that many biographies do not in their attempts to paint a picture of Walt as either a perfect saint or the ultimate evil--but he doesn't discuss Walt in isolation of the world in which he lived. Instead, Watts places Walt Disney in relationship to time periods and social movements.For example, the writing on Walt's early years consider the influences of his mother, father, and his small-town/rural upbringing. Many other biographies have done this as well. But Watts also considers how Walt was raised at the cusp of the Victorian era and the rise of modernism, then considers how this affects Walt and his decisions for the rest of his life. Such writing not only helps the reader to better understand the "whats" and "hows" of Walt Disney's life and accomplishments, but attempts to understand the "whys" and "so whats". In this way, the reader gets a sense of how Walt was shaped by the world he lived in and, in turn, shaped that world. Watts performs this delicate balance between biography, history, and cultural significance throughout the book. He deals with Walt in terms of the Depression, WWII, the shaping of the Hollywood Film Industry, the Cold War, McCarthyism, and the emergence of postmodern culture. This provides the reader with a deeper insight into Disney *and* these important moments. Because the book covers so much material and makes so many connections, this is not a light read. The material is accessible but the book is hefty in terms of pages and ideas. It's something to be digested slowly, savored. It's well worth it.
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Summary: A must for any true Disneyphile
Review: As a 15 year old girl who is an absolute Disney expert I think this is the best book I have read! It is a combination of a Walt Disney biography and a company history. It also tells the stories of many other people who helped make Disney what it is today. It is entertaining and almost never boring although it may be a difficult read for some. It also includes many interesting facts that I may have never known otherwise (Did you know that Snow White's blush was the actual blush used by the female inkers and that they applied it to her cheeks in each and every cell?). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is very interested in Disney, but not for the first Walt bio you have ever read.
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Summary: The Best Biography of Walt Disney Hands Down
Review: Easily the best biography out there on Walt Disney hands down. It will never be topped. It neither kisses his hiney as Bob Thomas' studio sanctioned biography does, nor does it discount him as merely a low brow populist (as Richard Schickel did), nor lies about him as some sort of communist spy in order to sell books. Not only is this biography even handed, but Mr. Watts makes brilliant connections between Walt and his time that no other biographer had the insight to do. This is a fair, balanced, well organized, incredibly entertaining biography that really brings the real Walt Disney to life. Steven Watts is a genius biographer.
Rating:
Summary: most in-depth biography yet
Review: far and away the most in-depth biography ever written about a truly great great man. While reading it, you get the sense that you are there, shoulder to shoulder with Walt Disney while he and his brother, and his employees build an amazing company. Also provides the context wherein the company was being formed, and the trials and trevails that preceded building this great company. Any Disney fan would NOT be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Walt Disney would have approved it!
Review: I have read 4 biographies about this man ("An American Original," "The Disney Version," Mosley's "Disney's World: A biography," Eliot's "Hollywood's Dark Prince") and now I realize that I should have acquired this book before, so I wouldn't need to read all of the above stated books.
This book provides Walt's personal story, studio development, good and bad critics, Disney's place in history and his shaping of American culture. It is not biased, but gives a balanced view on a man and his company. It made me believe in this book, since I was very sceptical towards "truths" written in other Walt Disney biographies. In those, Walt was portrayed as either a perfect person, or a villain of the 20th century.
The Magic Kingdom is the balanced truth and the best biography of a man that shaped American culture without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Walt Disney would have approved it!
Review: I have read 4 biographies about this man ("An American Original," "The Disney Version," Mosley's "Disney's World: A biography," Eliot's "Hollywood's Dark Prince") and now I realize that I should have acquired this book before, so I wouldn't need to read all of the above stated books.
This book provides Walt's personal story, studio development, good and bad critics, Disney's place in history and his shaping of American culture. It is not biased, but gives a balanced view on a man and his company. It made me believe in this book, since I was very sceptical towards "truths" written in other Walt Disney biographies. In those, Walt was portrayed as either a perfect person, or a villain of the 20th century.
The Magic Kingdom is the balanced truth and the best biography of a man that shaped American culture without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: most in-depth biography yet
Review: I've probably read every book on Walt Disney. Most are carefully vetted by the studio and manage to tell exactly the same story. There's nothing wrong with that--there are no lies, just spin. Some of the books that are less "controlled" are more fun, however, like Jack Kinney's memoir "Walt Disney and Other Assorted Characters." Some that shake off the Disney thought police do so out of malice--Marc Eliot's "biography" of Walt Disney was deliberately mean-spirited and inaccurate, in my opinion. In the last 20 years, we've seen a new breed of Disney book emerge that puts Walt Disney in context of the larger cultural picture. These volumes are dense and uninviting, but their view in general is that Walt was an uneducated slug and the people who bought his schlock were no better than he. "Disney Discourse," for example, or "Vinyl Leaves." Well, this book appears to be the Disney people's answer: An imposing academic look at the cultural history of the Walt Disney machine by a bona fide academic who has been lavished with information from the studio's archives. Personally, I think the truth is inbetween. If all you read are this book and Bob Thomas' excellent biography, you'll have the facts and the current Disney Company spin, but you'll be missing the healthy cynic's view. Leonard Mosley's biography, "Disney's World" or Richard Schickel's "The Disney Version" supply that, while still admiring their subject. Or, for an academic view of the creation of Disneyland that's less Disneyized than Watts, try Karal Ann Marling's "As Seen on TV."
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