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Watts strives for objectivity, balancing his awe and detailing of praises for Disney with voices of dissent and by discussing his faults. He also puts forth some effort debunking rumors and unwarranted attacks on the character of Walt and his work.

The Magic Kingdom is almost a textbook and can get a little dry sometimes. Don't be afraid to pour through the index to find what interests you - it is written in a way that allows chapters to stand on their own, so you needn't have read them in order. Over the course of the book, Watts explores Walt's childhood, his early struggles, his initial successes, the Studio strike, the World War II years, getting into television, opening Disneyland, the 1964 New York's World Fair, and Walt's final year, all the while discussing Walt's cinematic endeavors, philosophy, and some personal relationships.

It is a well written book that is unpretentious and doesn't try to impress the reader with a lot of meaningless psychobabble. You'll even get an occasional laugh. This book is a perfect companion to the Disney-published biographies on Walt and (his brother and business partner) Roy by Bob Thomas. It stops with the death of Walt, though, so if you're looking for a book that discusses The Walt Disney Company after Walt, you'll have to look elsewhere.

 

-- Review by Ken Pellman.
Ken Pellman is a writer who was nuts enough to create and successfully complete a B.A. in Thematic Environmental Design. He can be found on the web at http://www.Pellman.com and can be contacted at [email protected]