Walt Disney
The Triumph of the American Imagination
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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Written by:
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Neal Gabler
About this listen
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
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What the critics say
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)
What listeners say about Walt Disney
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ken
- 2019-09-01
Must " Read"
Totally enjoy that, for the new entrepeneur to the old dog this is a must even in the 1930's they had the felling that everything was done and no more improvement could be acheive walt prove them all wrong so many times :)
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-12-15
The Highest Standards
This is the story of someone with an unstoppable entrepreneurial spirit. Very inspiring and motivating. Learning about the successes and failures and troubled times puts things in perspective. Loved every moment.
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- Colleen
- 2024-10-03
A Dreamer and Innovator
This is an amazing story of Walt Disney. There has been much written about Walt Disney over the years, of which much has been untrue or shrouded in myth.
This book tells the story from the beginning starting with Walt Disney’s vision to bring a mouse to life as well as many other characters. Disney looked at animation differently and created movies that captured the imaginations of young and old alike.
Disney brought the amazing characters to life and they became part of our culture. Generations have grown up with amazing Disney stories and characters both on the big screen and on television
Disney also brought the theme parks to life and are still drawing crowds every year. The theme parks allow children of all ages to live their dreams about Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Donald Duck, Pluto, Peter Pan, Dumbo, just to name a few,
Walt Disney was an incredible man that changed the world even though he was a flawed man. He built an empire on imagination.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-08-08
performance is great, but...
the voice has way too much sibilance! I didn't notice until it was too late but this is basically un-listenable
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1 person found this helpful
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- Katrina
- 2022-12-20
Took me forever to read
Written a lot more like an essay than a story, found it hard to pay attention though the information is interesting
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1 person found this helpful