Walt Disney: An American Original [Hardcover]

Bob Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

Walt Disney is an American hero--the creator of Mickey Mouse, and a man who changed the face of American culture. After years of research, with the full cooperation of the Disney family and access to private papers and letters, Bob Thomas produced the definitive biography of the man behind the legend--the unschooled cartoonist from Kansas City who went bankrupt on his first movie venture but became the genius who produced unmatched works of animation. Complete with a rare collection of photographs, Bob Thomas' biography is a fascinating and inspirational work that captures the spirit of Walt Disney.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 379 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions; 1st edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786861290
• ISBN-13: 978-0786861293
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #794,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Disney, Walt

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent biography of an American icon, July 29, 2000

By 

R. Mohr (Troy, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WALT DISNEY: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL (Paperback)

I read this biography with considerable interest. I was not very old when Walt Disney died, but I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday evening. Even at that young age, I recognized that Walt Disney was something special, something unique.

This book helped to give me a sense of Walt Disney that was much deeper than what I could possibly have gotten from his Sunday night shows or even his movies and cartoon characters. This book brought a real sense of humanity to this great American icon. It helped me to see that Walt Disney was just a man, but a man with a vision and the courage to follow his dreams even in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles.

This book takes the reader on a journey from Walt's birth through his death and finally to the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida. This book is easy to read and seems very complete and thorough. I appreciated that the author did not seem to particularly build Walt up, nor did he tear him down. He presented the information in a factual and respectful manner. So many times biographies seem to be written to push the author's agenda and so information seems slanted. I did not get the feeling that this was true with this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to know Walt Disney better and to anyone that would like to read about a true American success story.

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate biography for a first-rate man, July 25, 2000

By 

Robert James (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WALT DISNEY: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL (Paperback)

Walt Disney was my hero as a child. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland; the re-release of a Disney animated classic was a major event in my life. I first read Bob Thomas' biography when it was released in 1976, when I was thirteen. I recently reread it, and found it just as enjoyable as the first time around. Sanctioned by the family, Thomas had full access to the Disney records, and he provides what every major historical figure needs: a book that gets the facts straight, so that other biographers and historians can then argue correctly about interpretations. And it's all here: his early life, the creation of his cartoons, the development of Disneyland, his political beliefs. While there is an adulatory, respectful tone throughout, that does not mean Bob Thomas ignores the more troublesome times of Disney's life, such as his conflicts with organized labor before WWII, or his growing conservatism. I know today there is a considerable groundswell of hostility toward's Disney's cultural dominance of our childhood. But as the product of that dominance, I can say that Disney's creations created in me a love of art, a sincere appreciation for the past, and a genuine belief in childhood's sanctity. My 3-year old daughter absolutely adores the classic cartoons, which we always watch together. Walt Disney is a classic American figure, and this biography serves him well.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Made Me Believe!, January 20, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: WALT DISNEY: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL (Paperback)

This was the most inspiring biography I have ever read. I bought it while on vacation at Disneyworld in Orlando this past November with my girlfriend and family, and I couldn't stop reading it. I found the most interesting period of his life to be the years between 20-35, when no one would give him a chance. I am a fiction writer who has written seven novels in the past decade (my 20s), and each of them has been rejected so many times I don't even want to think about it. I can not tell you how difficult it is to put everything I am as a human being into something I believe in and to face as much disinterest from agents, publishers, editors, magazines, and universities as I have.

Many of Disney's friends gave up on him. Even his family began to think he was crazy.

To read that Walt Disney went through a very similar period in his life to what I'm currently going through was like giving me a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. It made me hope. And when a book can do that, you know it is something special, man. Walt Disney truly was an American original; more than that, though he was a person who inspired dreams, goodness, and optimism even in the face of terrible adversity.

Stacey Cochran
Author of CLAWS available for 80 cents