Disney's World: A Biography

by Leonard Mosley

A REVEALING BIOGRAPHY OF A MAN WHO CREATED A LEGENDARY BUSINESS AND HIMSELF BECAME THE STUFF OF LEGEND.

No one with long and happy memories of a legend wants to have them too woefully disturbed, and Leonard Mosley has not set out to upset or destroy the image so many people cherish of the remarkable Walt Disney. But while sharing the general admiration of a man whose cinematic achievements were always so happily inspired and inspiring, this biographer discloses all teh facts, no matter how unpalatable, abut a man whose all too huma flaws and weakenesses of character were as real as a genuine talents and vision

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

330 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Leonard Oswald Mosley OBE OStJ (11 February 1913 – June 1992) was a British journalist, historian, biographer and novelist. His works include five novels and biographies of General George Marshall, Reich Marshall Hermann Göring, Orde Wingate, Walt Disney, Charles Lindbergh, Du Pont family, Eleanor Dulles, Allen Welsh Dulles, John Foster Dulles and Darryl F. Zanuck. He also worked as chief war correspondent for London's The Sunday Times.

Reviews

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. I loved learning about the beginnings of Disney and the man behind all of those fabulous ideas. Some people warned me that this was an unflattering portrait of Walt Disney, but I didn't feel that way at all. The book showed that he was human, but I was expecting that. All in all a good read if you are looking for a biography.

[Lorianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walt Disney is really a fascinating person. He was such a creative genius and it was fun to learn more about the man than the legend. I think the author did a good job and it was really interesting to read.

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay biography of DIsney, but really had little that wasn't in other better versions. I gave it a three rating considering when it was written.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walt Disney was not a particularly nice man. He did not like Jewish people or Blacks. He would not hire Blacks and he made nasty comments about Jewish people. But, yet, people who worked with and for him would stick by him because he was an enterprising visionary, very ambitious and a genius. Being around such a person was difficult as he had a temper, was often rude and short with people, and would fire people without any notice. Yet being around him or involved in his projects was inspiring as he pushed people to work their best and to be around his innovative changes was amazing and historical.

Walt Disney was a rags to riches story, having spent some of his youth on a small farm in Missouri. His father was a tough guy and not supportive of Walt’s creativity. Nonetheless, Walt, who had ingrained natural talent, wanted to be an illustrator. If he hadn’t been so ambitious, he would have been satisfied just working as an illustrator, perhaps in advertising, which is what he started off doing.

He started his own illustration advertising business in Kansas City, Missouri, and despite many financial failures, he did not stop there. In moving to California to be closer to his older brother Roy, who lived there to be in warmer climate to help get well from tuberculosis at a Veteran’s hospital, Walt created new opportunities. His brother had savings from his Veteran’s pension and using that money, they opened their own studio. Walt insisted it be named Walt Disney Studios, indicating, of course, who would be in charge. His creation of Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters in short films to be shown in theaters helped draw attention to the studio and Walt.

There were many ups and downs financially due to Walt’s risk-taking chances. His feature films were expensive. Sometimes they were successful, but there were a few that weren’t, particularly when America got involved in WWII, and the international film market closed. In the U.S., audiences did not appreciate or understand a few of his films, as they were ahead of their time. Of course, with future revival of the films, they would do much better and today many are considered classics.

Walt was often experimenting with new methods in film and art, constantly trying to improve and challenge himself with new ideas. Roy was more practical, the money guy, worrying about costs and risks.

Walt got the idea of opening a theme park in California after attending a train show with an animator in Chicago. Walt was fascinated by trains ever since he was a young boy. He loved attending the train show. He was in the process of having a new house built and had a half scale train and track built right on his property. He would have train parties at his house, having guests ride the train while he was the conductor. He traveled and studied theme parks across the United States and some abroad. Spending almost all his money on travel, he made every effort to get financial backers so he could build Disneyland theme park in California.

At first the park was not an immediate success as it had many problems, including rides that did not work. But within time, improvements were made and the Walt’s theme park did fabulous.

Walt then concentrated more on the making of films, on TV programs and finally on buying up land in Florida to create another theme park – Disney World, later renamed by his brother Roy, as Walt Disney World, after Walt’s death in 1966. Walt never did see the completion of his Florida theme park as he passed away from health problems, especially created by his decades-long habit of cigarette chain smoking.

Reading this book was fascinating, with numerous details about his working with talented animators, his relationship with his brother Roy, wife and daughters, his processes in change, his ups and downs. I liked that the author showed Walt Disney’s flaws and prejudices to make him more human. The author shows the advancement that Walt helped to make with animation. I highly recommend this book.

[Matthew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great biography! I don't know where I got this book but it's been in my house for a while and picked it up while waiting on some other books to arrive. I've already read the Bob Thomas biography on Walt Disney, which is the "official" biography that Disney released so I was a little skeptical at how this one would be but it turned out to be fantastic.

Being an unofficial biography I believe gives the author some leeway that an official biographer doesn't necessarily have. It's for this reason that this biography was so good I think as it gave a bit of a harsher, more raw account of how Walt Disney was and was not as PG as the Bob Thomas biography. Mosley really digs into how Walt treated people and more interestingly, how he was in his personal life and with his family. For example, one of Walt's two daughters was in fact adopted, something that was not mentioned in the Thomas biography.

The reason this receives 4 stars instead of 5 is towards the end Mosley gets into the speculations that Walt wanted to be and was possibly cryogenically frozen. This has been a long standing conspiracy but I just find it in somewhat poor taste to end the biography talking about something that for as much as anyone knows, is complete rumor and hearsay. It was interesting to read that Walt was in fact interested in cryogenics to preserve life, but I think it's unimaginable to believe he was actually frozen to be "brought back to life" years later, especially since we're talking about this happening in the 1960s.

Overall this was a great read and for anyone that's a big Disney fan I would recommend it.

[Rebecca The Files of Mrs. E, · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Disney, I like biographies, and I liked this book. :) Mosley did a good job being impartial, sharing both positive and negative aspects of Disney's life. With someone like Walt Disney it would be easy to spend the book lauding his every move or to want to totally trash him and knock him off the pedestal. I'm sure Mostley leaned towards the more positive side in detailing his life but he didn't hid negative things and even talked about the whole cyrogenics rumor. It is an older book though so some of the references might be out of date for younger people and the Disney corporation has changed and expanded since the book was written. It seems to have gotten closer to Walt's visions for his organization. This was the perfect book to get me in the mood for our upcoming Disney World trip. :)

[Ashlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding biography of the life of Walt Disney. This book does an excellent job of looking at his entire life, from birth and the role his parents had in his upbringing, through to his death. It crafted the relationships he had with his employees and family in an eyeopening way. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in the Disney Empire.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just about got three star rating,less on the failings of the man and more about his work this lead inevitably to his showdown with the unions,which from his previous experiences I could see it fors and against on both sides.

[galleycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Publisher's take: "No one with long and happy memories of a legend wants to have them too woefully disturbed, and Leonard Mosley has not set out to upset or destroy the image so many people cherish of the remarkable Walt Disney. But while sharing the general admiration of a man whose cinematic achievements were always so happily inspired and inspiriting, this biographer discloses all the facts, no matter how unpalatable, about a man whose all too human flaws and weaknesses of character were as real as his genuine talents and vision."

My take: If that sounds like an apology from the publisher for what you're about to read, well, that's because it is. Disney had a few issues. Watching Mickey and Minnie will never be the same.

Riveting reading, by the way.

A caveat: I noticed there are a few Amazon reader/reviewers questioning the veracity of this book, despite Mosley's widely heralded reputation as a thorough, first-rate biographer. There's no way for me to really know how close to the truth this book really is, but my instinct tells me Mosley is at least in the ball park.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Publisher's take: "No one with long and happy memories of a legend wants to have them too woefully disturbed, and Leonard Mosley has not set out to upset or destroy the image so many people cherish of the remarkable Walt Disney. But while sharing the general admiration of a man whose cinematic achievements were always so happily inspired and inspiriting, this biographer discloses all the facts, no matter how unpalatable, about a man whose all too human flaws and weaknesses of character were as real as his genuine talents and vision."

My take: If that sounds like an apology from the publisher for what you're about to read, well, that's because it is. Disney apparently had a few issues. Watching Mickey and Minnie will never be the same.

(I noticed there are a few Amazon reader/reviewers questioning the veracity of this book, despite Mosley's widely heralded reputation as a thorough, first-rate biographer. There's no way for me to really know how close to the truth this book really is, but my instinct tells me Mosley is at least in the ball park.)

[Maicey · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give a lower rating I would.
The first half of this book was done really well. I've read countless biographies on Walt Disney and the first half was up to standard. The second half, however, just made me angry. Walt Disney was by no means a perfect man, and I don't pretend to think he was. He was a human being, with his own faults and misgivings. But the second half of this book makes him sound like an absolute monster. The author describes him as (among other things) bigoted, racist, and anti-semitic, and nothing could be further from the truth. While reading this it seemed to me that the author wanted to trash Walt's reputation. Walt Disney was far from perfect, but a lot of what the author says of him in this book is complete slander. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I threw it out after I finished reading it.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some interesting things written in this book about Mr. Disney that I did not know about. For one thing, I had never heard of the idea that some people believe he is not burried in Forest Lawn as the public was told, but rather that he in fact is frozen so that somewhere down the line, when medica science makes it possible, he can be brought back to life. As funny and crazy as that sounds, it might be true. During the last few years of his life he belived in Cryogenesis. To me this was the most interesting read in the whole book. I also never imagined all of the conflict that played out between Walt and his brother Roy. Reading this book made Walt more real and reminded me that although he built the most magical place of all, he was human like the rest of us.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note that I am a huge Disney fan, but this book was awesome. It read more like a story than a biography. I loved it, and the details given were pretty good. When there is discrepancy about a point, the author specifically points it out and makes sure that the reader is aware. It was great and very informative as well as a fun read.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned more on what Walt Disney's dreams were. What Walt had to do to make ends meat not only as a child, but also as an adult, especially when taking big risks to make your dreams come true and become a reality.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author didn't get the timeline of when movies were released right, and seemed to attempt to create drama in the Disney History when there wasn't any drama. Of the roughly 8 biographies of Walt Disney I've read, this was probably the worst one.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to read a bio on the man behind the "happiest place on earth" that isn't sugar coated this book is for you.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on a Walt bio.

Mosley humanized Walt rather than glorified him. So it was pretty well rounded where it mentioned his faults and failures as actual failures and not excuse them.