Disney's World: A Biography [Paperback]

Leonard Mosley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1990

Documents the stunning accomplishments of Disney's imaginative genius. It is not a flattering portrait. Library Journal

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Scarborough House (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812885147
• ISBN-13: 978-0812885149
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Disney, Walt

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a balanced view, August 29, 2005

By 

microjoe - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Disney's World: A Biography (Paperback)

Many of the more sensational items in this book have been exposed as inaccurate at one time or another by respected Disney historians such as John Canemaker, Paul Anderson, Bob Thomas, Disney family members, and employees. The book trots out some old negative rumors without citing their sources. No source documentation or supporting material is included to support the wild tale about cryogenics. There is a story about an attempted suicide that never occurred and the book seems to tie it time-wise to the well documented nervous breakdown that Walt had at that same age. Big difference.

If you like books that bash famous people just for the sake of doing it, you may enjoy this. But for historic accuracy I prefer to read a bio that is neither sugar-coated or harsh. The Bob Thomas biography is considered by many to be the most accurate and complete available, and he also wrote a bio of Roy Disney (Walt's business partner and brother. In Thomas's case he carefully documents and quotes all of his sources, Then he confirms that person's version with others and quotes them as well. Some animators and studio employees have their own bio books that include some of their personal interactions with Walt Disney, like Shamus Culhane, Charles Show, Bill Peet, Ub Iwerks, or Harry Tytle. They have personal interactions to share including some negative ones and their stories match. I can recommend a book about his personal philosophies he used in life in his own words, "Quotable Walt Disney", tracks over 30 years of his comments on just about everything. You can tell a lot about a person with their own words. Walt Disney's family has always maintained he was a loving husband, and father. In summary, this book should be classified as fiction, and not a biography.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fair examination of Walt Disney, the man, March 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Disney's World: A Biography (Paperback)

Mosley presents Walt Disney's life story in a fair, human (foibles and all) account of the man behind the corporate icon. Filled with detailed personal accounts of Walt's involvement with various productions. I have no problem with this "unofficial" biography, one which portrays a less-than-stellar account of Disney's attitudes, while giving full credit for his creative achievements, but I tend to question Mosley's tendency to parphrase conversations and qoute them as verbatim. More explicit citings of his sources (who told him what stories) would lend more credence to Mosley's "story-telling" narrative.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic Disney Biography, May 22, 2004

By 

Stacey Cochran (Raleigh, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Disney's World: A Biography (Paperback)

This is a great biography of Walt Disney, and in many ways it is similar to Bob Thomas's biography "Disney: An American Original." Both books emphasize Walt's early Midwest childhood, his strict father and good-natured mother, and his experience in WWI in shaping the young man he became. The two biographies are different in their perceptions of Disney, and it could make a difference for you, dear reader, regarding which one you want to read first.

I would describe Mosley's biography as "more realistic" than Thomas's, but I would say that Bob Thomas's was more inspiring to read. Mosley doesn't hesitate to describe Walt as an ill-tempered ringleader who suffered from emotional instability in his early adulthood, whereas Bob Thomas's portrays such behavior in a more favorable light and seems to grant that it is the stuff of genius. One very clear example: Mosley describes Walt's suicide attempt at 31 where Lillian Disney found her husband out cold with sleeping pills and booze, called a doctor, and had Walt's stomach pumped. In Bob Thomas's book, there is no mention of this incident whatsoever.

Both books describe Disney as an inspiration to the people around him, but I think Mosley's goes more in-depth into Walt's character and describes more thoroughly some of the difficulties associated with working with him. What Mosley describes as "overbearing," Thomas would call "entrepreneurial." What Mosley would call "unstable," Bob Thomas would call "emotionally invigorating." The point is: the subject is the same; it's the perception of the subject that's different in the two biographies.

I think both do a great service to the world in representing quite possibly the most influential voice in 20th century entertainment. It's a fascinating reading, and it will excite you to explore your own creativity. Walt Disney was a man that would risk everything to make people laugh, to entertain, to push the medium of film, cartoons, and theme parks to a level unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. He truly was an inspiration, and, of course, I hope this review is helpful to you!

Stacey Cochran
Author of CLAWS available for 80 cents