Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Photo from goodreads.com

Two and 3/4 years.

Basically the entire life of my toddler. This is probably the longest it’s taken me to get through a book and that includes the bible.

I guess I listened to it so for you sticklers out there who think listening and reading are different… Nah, it’s over 1000 pages. It totally counts.

So. For my TLDR fans out of there, of which I am one, this book definitely worth reading but with caveats. Those being if you can invest the time and have the intense interest to get through a biography with tons of back story and legal and financial information. It's definitely not for everyone. My excuse is I’m a Disney freak and Walt Disney has been one of my heroes ever since high school. So, whole it took me forever I was determined to get through it and actually loved parts of it.

Also it kept me awake when I was driving to and from Logan by myself (not counting the baby/toddler in the back seat) for months while my husband and I long-distanced it while selling our house. I still weirdly love that drive and sometimes think of doing it just because it relaxes me. But I digress…

Walt Disney is a great book for people looking to start their own business. It has great insight into WWII life and history, in the depression and cold war from a business perspective, the history of Hollywood and the shift from live theatre to filmed, information about the move from black and white to color as well as from silent films to talkies, the list goes on.

It also has great history of the Disney company as a whole and a bit about how the separate arms of the company are able to function so well. Again, this is probably boring for most but I loved it because I used to work there.

Do I remember everything in there? Heavens no. Am I going to get a hard copy for reference? Yep. Do I feel cool because I can pull out random facts about Disney trivia and how they survived WWII by making instructional movies for the Army? Definitely. I feel like a freaking history buff on that one.

Also, a part of me just needed to get credit for getting through an entire biography but I loved it so I guess i’m still a nerd.

Has anyone out there read this? Something like it? Am I alone in my weirdness? Don’t answer that last one. Pretty sure we’re all a little bit weird. :)