• Walt Disney

  • The Triumph of the American Imagination
  • By: Neal Gabler
  • Narrated by: Leonardo Leoncavallo
  • Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (306 ratings)

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Walt Disney  By  cover art

Walt Disney

By: Neal Gabler
Narrated by: Leonardo Leoncavallo
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Publisher's summary

Seven years in the making and meticulously researched - Gabler is the first writer to be given complete access to the Disney archives - this is the full story of a man whose work left an ineradicable brand on our culture but whose life has largely been enshrouded in myth.

Gabler shows us the young Walt Disney breaking free of a heartland childhood of discipline and deprivation and making his way to Hollywood. We see the visionary, whose desire for escape honed an innate sense of what people wanted to see on the screen and, when combined with iron determination and obsessive perfectionism, led him to the reinvention of animation. It was Disney, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films - most notably Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi - who transformed animation from a novelty based on movement to an art form that presented an illusion of life.

The author also reveals a wounded, lonely, and often disappointed man, who, despite worldwide success, was plagued with financial problems, suffered a nervous breakdown, and at times retreated into pitiable seclusion in his workshop, making model trains. Gabler explores accusations that Disney was a red-baiter, an anti-Semite, and an embittered alcoholic. Yet whatever his personal failings, Disney appealed to millions by demonstrating the power of wish fulfillment and the triumph of the American imagination.

©2006 Neal Gabler (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

How Disney became an Icon

This is a very thorough and interesting story starting from Walt's youngest days. It describes in detail exactly how Walt created and built a brand that became the gold standard in family entertainment for generations of Americans.

I only wish the books scope had extended beyond Walt's life to chronicle the ups and downs of the company in the years since his death.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

Really interesting. Well written. Well read. Disney lead an inspiring life, and this book gives a good sense of him as a person. Recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly Insightful!!

We often think that people or companies that currently rule the world in a certain field or genre was there from the beginning and it’s only by reading their bio you find that they had a dream and pressed forward with what they wanted with years and years of people trying to stop them and or doubting they’ll make it. Disney deserve all it has because of its founder Mr. Walt Disney!! A most read for any business and or creative.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not Enough About Disney as Innovator & Creator

I read biographies about great people to learn about what and how they achieved their incredible value achievements. Walt Disney revolutionized animation technology, movies, TV, and amusement parks in creating much of what we now associate with modern American pop culture, especially in the integration of movies, TV, and merchandise (toys, clothing, etc.). Disney innovatedly created a company dedicated to integrated cultural production, using intellectual property rights in patents, copyrights, and trademarks. I was expecting this book to delve more into these facets of his character, mind, and productive endeavors. It did in the chapters focused on his work in the 1920s through early 1940s (start of WWII). These were thrilling and inspiring chapters. But there was too much detail about his ancestors, as well as too much about his personal life and familial interactions. The book ended, not by taking about the details of his indelible impact on modern life and culture, but instead with extensive details about his family issues and recounting in exacting details his grave (and pseudo-psychologizing these details too). The recounting of Disney's early innovations in both art and business, and the all-too-brief discussions about the later inception and implementation of Disneyland and his entrepreneurial embrace of TV, made this book worth the read, but it was equally frustrating in what it didn't cover. For example, Disney innovated the use of depth in animation, and he received a patent for his invention of a new camera mechanism that made his animated films breathtakingly realistic in this respect. His original prototype of this camera mechanism is in the lobby of the Disney studios in California, but there's no mention of the invention or use of this intention in this book. There's certainly discussion of his creativity and innovations, but I wanted more of this, and less psychologizing, and fewer details about his vacations, family interactions, and other personal facts that are mundane and no different from anything anyone else has in their lives.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • p
  • 06-19-22

Excellent, excellent,!

I could listen to this book over and over. For the hundreds of times I've been to Disneyland..... And all the facts I thought I already knew about Walt Disney ...... I learned so much. Talk about being awe of another human being. I found myself tearing up or randomly smiling throughout this whole book. The next time I walk through Disneyland I will definitely have a different perspective of everything that came before that wonderful place. I highly recommend reading this period

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended

Very interesting and thorough. Great insight on an American genius. Clarified some misrepresentations of the man.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not complete book

Be warned that this is not the complete book . The other title option that says 33hrs , that is the correct audiobook.

This was still very interesting and well read. If you dont want to spend 30+ hrs, this still gets the job done main storyline wise

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Last Line

The line of this book made me tear up, it’s what Walt always wanted and he achieved it.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Incomplete

I got this Audible version to accompany the print version. This Audible version is incomplete. The print has significantly more text than what is read. Yikes!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Just okay.

For me it fell short on giving me more of an insight of his mind and why he made the choices he made.

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