Walt Disney

The Triumph of the American Imagination

By: Neal Gabler

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 33 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

ONE OF THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S 100 GREATEST FILM BOOKS OF ALL TIME • 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 and USA Today Biography of the Year

©2006 Neal Gabler (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

2007, L.A. Times Book Prize (Biography), Short-listed

"Thorough...[and] engrossing." (Publishers Weekly)

"A balanced treatment of the man and his achievements, realistically assessing Disney's considerable impact and offering insight into the hidden, restless soul who constantly challenged himself." (Booklist)

"We've all been waiting for the perfect book on Walt Disney; it has finally arrived and Neal Gabler's done it. Wonderful!" (Ray Bradbury)

Great!

Love it! Annoying footnotes but otherwise amazing and detailed. The detail gives you a great sense of the man.

Very Good Book

If you could sum up Walt Disney in three words, what would they be?

Very Talent and unique

What was one of the most memorable moments of Walt Disney?

listening to how they made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the book.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Story behind Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book which were his last to films before his death in 1966.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I seen the book in my local bookstore and after hearing that American Experience on PBS was doing a documentary about him that would premiere in the Fall of 2015. It made me want to read the book before the documentary air on PBS.

What a Life!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His passion for creating Snow White. The people/workers who double crossed him. How his mom died. How he knew his time was coming to an end and would often get sentimental.

Any additional comments?

Very inspiring book. Walt Disney did so much in a time when the world was at war and America was just coming into it's own. The book is very long 33 + hours but well worth it. You learn about everything from his childhood, first jobs, failures, how Mickey Mouse was created, Snow White, Bambi, Mickey Mouse club, DisneyLand etc... Recommended!

What an amazing life!

I have always been a fan of Disney movies and theme parks so when I heard about this audio book I was very intrigued to learn more about Walt Disney. The audio book is very long and at times goes into too much detail but overall it was a wonderful listen and I was sad to get to the end.

For me the big learning was that Walt Disney struggled with many challenges throughout his life and was not the gregarious social leader that I perceived him to be.

I also liked the behind the scenes working of the studio and how Walt strived for perfection which you see today at his pristine parks. The moral of the story for me is that hard work. perseverance and a passion for what you do can lead to success but it won't be without challenges along the way.

Excellent Listen

I enjoyed listening to this book despite the long length. It was very interesting to hear the life of Disney from birth to death. I learned many new insights about his struggles with starting a company and within Disney.

I would highly recommend.

What a life...

Amazing and well told with this audiobook. I highly recommend 1.25x speed and the story of this great Americans life while keep you entertained and have you in tears at the end.

A very good book

Overall I really enjoyed this book, however for my tastes it was very slow going at the beginning. I don't mind long books, I've listened to books much longer than this but the beginning of the book is a bit to detailed and the story doesn't really start moving until you're about 8 1/2 hours in. With that said once the story starts moving it proves to be extremely interesting and seemingly well researched.

As for the other comments the authors need to tell you what "intellectuals" thought about things is frustrating. Intellectuals of this era are some of the most irrelevant people that ever existed and for the author to keep bringing up their thoughts just slows down the book. Also it wouldn't appear that the author ever meet a communist he didn't like. Communism was a real threat to America during the time of Walt Disney-- see the country called the USSR. For the author to label anyone that is an anti-communist a reactionary is silly and seemingly shows a complete lack of education or a political bias. I'll go with bias.

With those negative comments just note that I'm still giving it 4 stars. While the book will slow down the author mostly does a good job of isolating these parts of the book to their own sections, so it's not throughout everything you're reading.

The story of Disney really is a fantastic adventure that ended much too soon, I only wish he had lived to build Epcot in his vision.

Great

This is one of those rare audiobooks that you want to tell everyone about. I've shared stories from this book to most of my friends.

Truly inspiring and thought provoking

I absolutely loved this book. Though it dragged on a bit because it was so detailed, those details really make you feel like you get to know the man personally. Having just finished, I'm sad. I feel like I lost a friend.

There is a lot inspiring in this book, but what I will take away is this: that Walt was a very imperfect person with lots of faults and foibles, but he managed to change the world.

Very good....very long, but VERY INSIGHTFUL :)

What made the experience of listening to Walt Disney the most enjoyable?

The most enjoyable thing about listening to this book, is gaining the insight of Mr. Walt Disney. Learning how he developed throughout his life, how he had perseverance, and the struggle that he was against.

This audio book was very detailed, and it allowed me to relate to all the small events that took place is Disney's life. This is a must read for entrepreneur and business like minded people

Would you be willing to try another book from Neal Gabler? Why or why not?

Absolutely! Although the book was much longer and thicker than I thought, it took me about a month and a half to get through, it was very insightful.

What does Arthur Morey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He "sounded" like Walt, like I am imagining Walt talking and Mr. Morey played the part perfectly! Also, he was consistent the entire time throughout the book! Which is a feat considering it was 70 hours long.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The beginning intro, relating Disney to American culture and life was written beautifully.

When Walt created his first company....and failed....and his constant "girt" throughout his life to never stop moving.

And the ending...in which it was very sad and emotional.

Any additional comments?

In my opinion...the book was very long. Not bad, but I lost interest in many spots. It tends to go on rants about different parties and issues regarding Walt, rather than just getting to the point.

Else then that, it was a perfect book