Disney Book Reviews

We've recommended (and not recommended) a lot of Disney books and have take the time to formally review some of them. Here, we'll provide a guide to those books we've written about in depth and provide links to those reviews.

Here are the Disney books about which we've written full reviews:

• Alcorn, Steve, Green, David. Building a Better Mouse: The Story of the Electronic Imagineers Who Designed Epcot. Theme Perks Inc., 2007.
• Yee, Kevin. Mouse Trap: A Memoir of a Disneyland Cast Member. Ultimate Orlando Press, 2008.
• Emerson, Chad. Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World. Ayefour Publishing, 2010.
• O'Brien, Tim. Tony Baxter: First of the Second Generation of Walt Disney Imagineers. Casa Flamingo Literary Arts, 2015.
• Blyth, Jeff. Polishing the Dragons: Making EPCOT's Wonders of China. Bamboo Forest Publishing, 2020.

Walt Disney Books

You've probably heard that, "it all started from a mouse," and you probably know there was a man behind that mouse. If you're looking at this page, then you probably want to know more about that man, Walter Elias Disney, and we're happy to help.

Walt was a complicated man. As an animator and illustrator his talents were limited, but he was able to surround himself, encourage, and organize training for a remarkably talented group of artists, while creating an environment that pushed those artists to achieve more than they alone may ever have accomplished. Walt also had an understanding of what makes a compelling story that few filmmakers have ever matched and a relentless desire to innovate to find more effective ways to tell those stories. Walt was also difficult to understand, which made working with him a challenge for many people. All of those narratives play out in a variety of different books about his personal and work life. We'll highlight a few of those books here and provide a couple more complete lists below.

We suggest starting with Bob Thomas' Walt Disney: An American Original. This is an older authorized biography, which some may suggest presents a somewhat sanitized story of Walt's life, but it doesn't completely gloss over Disney's flaws and Thomas had access to information that other biographers did not. As such, it presents facts that are important to all those who followed Thomas in documenting Disney's life.

Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination is one of the more respected recent biographies of Walt Disney. Gabler also served as a advisor to the PBS American Experience documentary about Walt, which is worth seeking out if you prefer watching videos to reading about history. Last we checked, that video was available in its entirety through the Hoopla platform that is available through many local libraries around the country.

One Walt Disney biography that I don't recommend is Leonard Mosley's Disney's World. This was one of the first biographies of Walt Disney that I read, so I've left it on my list partly for that reason, but also because it does discuss one valuable lesson, that famous figures we build up with heroes have their share or human flaws. The trouble is the book tends to focus too much on Disney's flaws, without offering compelling evidence to back up many of the author's assertions, so it mostly just perpetuates (or, maybe at the time actually initiated) some myths about the man. It's useful mostly if you want to get an idea where some of those myths may have originated.

If you're looking for a book about Walt Disney that works well for younger readers, then Katherine and Richard Greene's The Man Behind the Magic is a great choice. If you wish to introduce even younger children to Walt as an actual person, then Brad Meltzer's I am Walt Disney offers an accurate overview of Disney's life in an engaging easy-to-read format.

Following the list of books directly about Walt are biographies about some of people who worked closest with him over the years and a couple individuals who Walt seemed to trust and rely on. Those who really wish to understand Walt will benefit from hearing how these individuals worked with and otherwise related to Walt. None of these individuals is more important than Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney, and Bob Thomas was again able to write the official biography of Roy Disney, Building a Company.

Several other individuals had frequent important interactions with Walt at different times during their lives, though Ub Iwerks was a key figure in the initial success of the Disney studio and returned to help the Disney brothers stay near the forefront of film innovation throughout Walt's life. Iwerks was also Walt's partner during some of his early, less-successful ventures, so outside of a short time running his own competing animation studio, his career was largely linked to the Disney studio. Don Iwerks documents this in Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor, a book full of photos, though a little light on text, that nonetheless sheds light on an often unsung essential contributor to Walt Disney's success.

There's some evidence to suggest Walt may have played favorites with some animators. Whether or not that is a fair description of how he managed the studio it's pretty clear that he recognized unique talent among those who worked in his studio, and the stories of a couple well-known Disney animators that stood out from the crowd and attracted more of Walt's attention than some of their co-workers were Ward Kimball and Rolly Crump. Todd James Pierce tells Kimball's tales in The Life and Times of Ward Kimball, while Jeff Heimbuch organized Crump's own words in It's Kind of a Cute Story.

Another grouping of books includes those with some stories about Walt. Marty Sklar was hired by Walt as a young UCLA student and went on to write some of the words Walt shared would speak. Sklar rose to lead Walt Disney Imagineering, and documents his own career and lessons learned from Walt in Dream It! Do It! (and later in two other books). Jack Lindquist and Tom Nabbe were two other individuals who didn't work as closely with Walt as Sklar, but also started their careers in the early days of Disneyland, with Nabbe actually talking Walt Disney into hiring him to work at the park while Nabbe was still a child. Others, who didn't work for Disney, have also collected stories about Walt and the company, including Jim Korkis, whose The Vault of Walt series is full of interesting and entertaining stories. Michael Crawford's The Progress City Primer does much the same, compiling some of Crawford's most popular blog posts into an intriguing collection containing some of the most offbeat stories in Disney history, but also including some stories directly involving Walt Disney.

 

One last series of books worth mentioning here is Walt's People, from Didier Ghez, a massive multi-volume collection of interviews with people who worked for Walt Disney or for the Disney company over the years. At last count there were 23 volumes of this series, so I won't link to each individual book here, but most should be easy to find through your favorite online book store. The DIX project website has details about what's in each edition and offers the chance to quickly search through the whole series if their is a particular subject you are looking for. Didier Ghez's own website also offers an far more complete list of Disney biographies if you're ready to move past the titles that we've highlighted here.

Biographies of Walt Disney

	Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney: An American Original. Pocket Books, 1980.
	Barrier, Michael. The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. University of California Press, 2008.
	Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Vintage Books, 2007.
	Susanin, Timothy S.. Walt Before Mickey. University Press of Mississippi, 2011.
	Miller, Diane Disney Walt Disney: His Life in Pictures. Disney Press, 2009.
	Meltzer, Brad. I am Walt Disney. Dial Books, 2019.
	Greene, Katherine. The Man Behind the Magic: The Story of Walt Disney. Viking, 1991.
	Mosley, Leonard. Disney's World. Stein and Day, Incorporated, 1985.
	Moran, Christian. Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: Walt Disney and Technology. Theme Park Press, 2015.

Other Biographies of Individuals That Worked Closely with Walt Disney

	Thomas, Bob. Building a Company. Hyperion, 1998.
	Iwerks, Don. Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor. Disney Editions, 2019.
	Pierce, Todd James. The Life and Times of Ward Kimball. University Press of Mississippi, 2019.
	Crump, Rolly. It's Kind of a Cute Story. Bamboo Forest Publishing, 2012.

 

Books That Include Some Stories About Walt Disney

	Sklar, Marty. Dream It! Do It!. Disney Editions, 2013.
	Lindquist, Jack. In Service to the Mouse. Chapman University Press, 2010.
	Nabbe, Tom. The Adventures of Tom Nabbe. Theme Park Press, 2015.
	Bossert, David A.. Remembering Roy E. Disney. Disney Editions, 2013.
	Crawford, Michael. The Progress City Primer. Progress City Press, 2015.
	Korkis, Jim. The Vault of Walt. Ayefour Publishing, 2010.
	Korkis, Jim. The Vault of Walt: Volume 3. Theme Park Press, 2014.

Let us know what you think of our list. Did you find anything here that's helped you? Have you already read any of these titles? Is there anything we're missing? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below or through our practicalwdw@gmail.com email address.

Disney Books

From time to time someone asks for Disney reading recommendations. That's a complicated question, because it there are a lot of different topics under the heading of "Disney," so I'm working a handful of different lists of books in different categories that I am familiar with. The first step was for me to catalog all the Disney books I currently own.

Here is that list, which covers everything from travel guides to cookbooks to biographies of Walt Disney to Cast Member tales to the history of the Disney corporation. Add in some books I've borrowed from the library and a bunch more on my personal wishlist and you can see why I need to break my recommendations list up into categories if I want to help people find books they may enjoy!

My Disney Library

(sorted from most recently published to oldest)

	Carriker Smothers, Marcy. Walt's Disneyland. Disney Editions, 2021.
	Bossert, David A.. Claude Coats: Walt Disney's Imagineer. Old Mill Press, 2021.
	Simmons, Roger. Disney World at 50. Triumph Books LLC, 2021.
	Marley, David "Dr. Skipper". The Jungle Cruise. Theme Park Press, 2021.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 25. Theme Park Press, 2021.
	Jablonski, Carl L.. The Cost of the Kingdom. Theme Park Press, 2021.
	Nolte, Foxx. Boundless Realm. Inklingwood Press, 2020.
	Blyth, Jeff. Polishing the Dragons: Making EPCOT's Wonders of China. Bamboo Forest Publishing, 2020.
	Kurtti, Jeff. The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky. Disney Editions, 2020.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 24. Theme Park Press, 2020.
	Iwerks, Don. Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor. Disney Editions, 2019.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 23. Theme Park Press, 2019.
	Sklar, Marty. Travels with Figment. Disney Editions, 2019.
	Docter, Pete. Marc Davis' Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks: Volumes 1 and 2. Disney Editions, 2019.
	Pellman, Ken. Cleaning the Kingdom: Night, Day, Past and Present. Synergy Books Publishing, 2019.
	Gurr, Bob. Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer. Bob Gurr, 2019.
	Pierce, Todd James. The Life and Times of Ward Kimball. University Press of Mississippi, 2019.
	Marley, David John. More Skipper Stories: True Tales from Disneyland's Jungle Cruise . Theme Park Press, 2018.
	Carriker Smothers, Marcy. Eat Like Walt. Disney Editions, 2017.
	Sehlinger, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2018. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2017.
	Brandon, Pam. The Best of Epcot Festivals Cookbooks. Disney Enterprises, Inc., 2016.
	Korkis, Jim. How to Be a Disney Historian. Theme Park Press, 2016.
	Marley, David John. Skipper Stories: True Tales from Disneyland's Jungle Cruise. Theme Park Press, 2016.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 5. Theme Park Press, 2016.
	McGinnis, George. From Horizons to Space Mountain. Theme Park Press, 2016.
	Neary, Kevin. Maps of the Disney Parks. Disney Editions, 2016.
	Brandon, Pam. Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Disney Enterprises, Inc., 2015.
	Crawford, Michael. The Progress City Primer. Progress City Press, 2015.
	Ghez, Didier. They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age. Chronicle Books LLC, 2015.
	Koenig, David. The People v. Disneyland. Bonaventure Press, 2015.
	Nabbe, Tom. The Adventures of Tom Nabbe. Theme Park Press, 2015.
	Pellman, Ken. Cleaning the Kingdom. Synergy Books Publishing, 2015.
	Sklar, Marty. One Little Spark!. Disney Editions, 2015.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 16. Theme Park Press, 2015.
	Sullivan, William "Sully". From Jungle Cruise Skipper to Disney Legend. Theme Park Press, 2015.
	Baham, Jeff. The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion. Theme Park Press, 2014.
	Broggie, Michael. Walt Disney's Railroad Story. The Donning Company Publishers, 2014.
	Gennawey, Sam. The Disneyland Story. Keen Communications, LLC, 2014.
	Korkis, Jim. The Vault of Walt: Volume 3. Theme Park Press, 2014.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 15. Theme Park Press, 2014.
	Ward, Jessica. Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man. Disney Editions, 2014.
	Bossert, David A.. Remembering Roy E. Disney. Disney Editions, 2013.
	Sehlinger, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2013. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013.
	Sklar, Marty. Dream It! Do It!. Disney Editions, 2013.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 13. Theme Park Press, 2013.
	Crump, Rolly. It's Kind of a Cute Story. Bamboo Forest Publishing, 2012.
	Gurr, Bob. Design Just for Fun. APP-GurrDesign, 2012.
	Handke, Danny. Poster Art of the Disney Parks. Disney Editions, 2012.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 12. Xlibris, 2012.
	Schneider, Ron. From Dreamer to Dreamfinder. Bamboo Forest Publishing, 2012.
	Sehlinger, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2012. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012.
	Sehlinger, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2012. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012.
	Smith, Dave. Disney Trivia from the Vault. Disney Editions, 2012.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 11. Xlibris, 2011.
	Hahn, Don. Brain Storm: Unleashing Your Creative Self. Disney Editions, 2011.
	Flannery, Laurie. Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places - Walt Disney World. Fall River Press, 2011.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 10. Xlibris, 2011.
	Emerson, Chad. Four Decades of Magic. Ayefour Publishing, 2011.
	Gennawey, Sam. Walt and the Promise of Progress City. Ayefour Publishing, 2011.
	Susanin, Timothy S.. Walt Before Mickey. University Press of Mississippi, 2011.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 9. Xlibris, 2010.
	Black, Keith. Attention to Detail: A Look at Walt Disney World Parks. Keith R. Black, 2010.
	Burns-Clair, Pam. Harriet Burns: Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering. The Donning Company Publishers, 2010.
	Emerson, Chad. Project Future. Ayefour Publishing, 2010.
	Korkis, Jim. The Vault of Walt. Ayefour Publishing, 2010.
	Lindquist, Jack. In Service to the Mouse. Chapman University Press, 2010.
	Sehlinger, Bob. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.
	Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World. Disney Editions, 2010.
	Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. Disney Editions, 2010.
	Yee, Kevin. Walt Disney World Hidden History. Ultimate Orlando Press, 2010.
	Kober, J. Jeff. The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney. Performance Journeys, 2009.
	Safro, Jill. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2010. Disney Editions, 2009.
	Snyder, Chuck. Windows on Main Street. Disney Editions, 2009.
	Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Disney Editions, 2009.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 8. Xlibris, 2009.
	Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland. Disney Editions, 2008.
	Barrier, Michael. The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. University of California Press, 2008.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 7. Xlibris, 2008.
	Cockerell, Lee. Creating Magic. Crown Business, 2008.
	Gordon, Bruce. Walt Disney World: Where dreams come true. Disney Editions, 2008.
	Hench, John. Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show. Disney Editions, 2008.
	Kurtti, Jeff. Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends. Disney Editions, 2008.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 6. Xlibris, 2008.
	Hoffman, David. Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places - Disneyland. Fall River Press, 2008.
	Yee, Kevin. Mouse Trap: A Memoir of a Disneyland Cast Member. Ultimate Orlando Press, 2008.
	Alcorn, Steve. Building a Better Mouse. Theme Perks Inc., 2007.
	Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Vintage Books, 2007.
	Koenig, David. Realityland. Bonaventure Press, 2007.
	Ridgway, Charles. Spinning Disney's World. The Intrepid Traveler, 2007.
	Koenig, David. Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland. Bonaventure Press, 2006.
	Stewart, James B.. Disney War. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2006.
	Ghez, Didier. Walt's People - Volume 2. Xlibris, 2006.
	VanPelt, Peggy. The Imagineering Workout. Disney Editions, 2005.
	Koenig, David. More Mouse Tales. Bonaventure Press, 2002.
	Foglesong, Richard E.. Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando. Yale University Press, 2001.
	Safro, Jill. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2002. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 2001.
	Safro, Jill. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2001. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 2000.
	Lefkon, Wendy. Walt Disney World Resort: A Souvenir for the Millennium. Disney Editions, 1999.
	Safro, Jill. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2000. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1999.
	Eisner, Michael. Work in Progress. Random House, Inc., 1998.
	Smith, Dave. Disney A to Z. Hyperion, 1998.
	Thomas, Bob. Building a Company. Hyperion, 1998.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1998. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1997.
	Watts, Steven. The Magic Kingdom. University of Missouri Press, 1997.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1997. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1996.
	Rafferty, Kevin. Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney Editions, 1996.
	Kurtti, Jeff. Since the World Began. Hyperion, 1996.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1995. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1994.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1994. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1993.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1993. Hearst Business Publishing, Inc., 1992.
	Culhane, John. Disney's Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film. Hyperion, 1992.
	Fjellman, Stephen. Vinyl Leaves. Westview Press, 1992.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Steve Birnbaum Brings You the Best of Walt Disney World 1992. Hearst Professional Magazines, Inc., 1991.
	Greene, Katherine. The Man Behind the Magic: The Story of Walt Disney. Viking, 1991.
	Grover, Ron. The Disney Touch. Business One Irwin, 1991.
	Mobil Travel Guide. 1991 The Road to Walt Disney World. Prentice Hall Trade Division, 1991.
	. Walt Disney World: 20 Magical Years. The Walt Disney Company, 1991.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Steve Birnbaum Brings You the Best of Walt Disney World 1991. Hearst Professional Magazines, Inc., 1990.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Steve Birnbaum Brings You the Best of Walt Disney World 1990. Hearst Professional Magazines, Inc., 1989.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Steve Birnbaum Brings You the Best of Disneyland 1990. Hearst Professional Magazines, Inc., 1989.
	. Fodor's 90 Disney World & the Orlando Area. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc., 1989.
	Taylor, John. Storming the Magic Kingdom. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1987.
	. Walt Disney World. Walt Disney Productions, 1986.
	Mosley, Leonard. Disney's World. Stein and Day, Incorporated, 1985.
	Douglas, John. The Future World of Energy. Grolier, 1984.
	Moolman, Valerie. The Future World of Transportation. Grolier, 1984.
	Beard, Richard R.. Walt Disney's EPCOT Center. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982.
	. Walt Disney World: The First Decade. The Walt Disney Company, 1982.
	Birnbaum, Steve. Steve Birnbaum Brings You the Best of Walt Disney World 1983. Diversion Communications, Inc., 1982.
	Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney: An American Original. Pocket Books, 1980.
	. The Story of Walt Disney World. , .
	. Disney-MGM Studios: A Pictorial Souvenir. , .