Annotated bibliography of Disney reference books
Alterocca, Bona: W. Disney - Il re dei cartoni animati published by
Mursia; 1972.
An other flat biography of Walt. Nothing new. Written in Italian.
Asenin, Sergei: Uolt Disnei published by Iskusstvo; 1995.
The first biography of Walt written in Russian.
Bessy, Maurice: Walt Disney published by Seghers; 1970.
A very hard to find biography of Walt written in French. This is an interesting analysis
of Walt, but it contains no new revelations or elements.
Broggie, Michael: Walt Disney's
Railroad Story published by Pentrex; 1997.
A huge book about a rather specialized part of Disney history. Incredible work, incredible
documents.
Bruno, Edoardo; Ghezzi, Enrico (editors): Walt Disney published by Biennale di
Venezia; 1985.
A beautiful (but small) catalog containing one of the first publications of Eisenstein's
essay about Disney. Written in Italian.
Bryman, Alan: Disney and his Worlds published by
Routledge; 1995.
It looks as if Routledge has decided to publish all of the sterile analyses about Walt.
Only the cover photo is nice to look at.
Cole, Michael D.: Walt Disney,
Creator of Mickey Mouse published by Enslow Publishers; 1996.
Juvenile book of little interest.
De Fornari, Oreste: Disney published by La Nuova Italia; 1978.
A flat biography of Walt in Italian. Nothing new.
Di Franco, Jo Ann: Walt Disney, When Dreams Come
True published by Dillon Press; 1985.
Juvenile book.
Dilts, Robert: Mozart et Disney, Stratégies du Génie published by La
Méridienne/Desclée de Brouwer; 1996.
A very strange and relatively sterile book that tries to analyze the keys of Mozart and
Disney's geniuses. Written in French.
Disney, Edward: A Story of Disneys - Some
Myths Explored self-published; 1998.
A book about the whole Disney family history (not just Walt's ancestry) that will rejoice
the most hard-core historians. Edward Disney's email address will help you order this
book.
Disney Hugh: Disneys of Stebanon - A review of an Anglo-Irish
Family from the Time of Cromwell self-published; 1995.
While exploring the book by Edward Disney, I stumbled on this one. However, while this
book is about the Disney family, there is no mention of Walt's family, except a one-page
introduction.
Disney Miller, Diane: The Story of Walt Disney
published by Holt; 1957.
This is certainly not an unbiased biography since it was written by Walt's daughter, but
it is very refreshing, enjoyable and interesting.
Duchêne, Alain: Walt Disney n'est pas mort published by Favre; 1989.
The author unfortunately forgot to take information about Walt's life before writing
this... uh... "biography". Written in French.
Eisenstein, Serguei: Walt Disney
published by Circé; 1991.
This book in French is an extremely odd reflection on Walt's early work by one of Russian
cinema geniuses. The thinking is often odd but not totally uninteresting. This essay has
been published in English in "Bruno, Edoardo; Ghezzi, Enrico (editors): Walt
Disney published by Biennale di Venezia; 1985".
Eliot, Mark: Walt Disney,
Hollywood's Dark Prince published by Birch Lane Press; 1993.
The latest and by far most stupid and uninteresting "scandalous biography" of
Walt. So full of mistakes, guesses, intentional lies and non-intentional ignorances it is
hardly worth mentioning.
Fanning, Jim: Walt Disney - Pop Culture Legend
published by Chelsea House Publishers; 1994.
Juvenile.
Fisher, Maxime P.: Walt Disney published by
Franklin Watts; 1988.
Juvenile book.
Ford, Barbara: Walt Disney
published by Walker; 1989.
The story of Walt, for children.
Gourdin, Henri: Walt Disney, Bâtisseur de Rêves published by Domens; 1995.
One of the worst biographies of Walt. The author has shamefully borrowed from the studies
of Bob Thomas and some other great biographers to build an uninteresting, badly written
text, that even contains a few mistakes. No primary research has been done. No attention
has been given to this book. None should be. Written in French.
Greene, Katherine and Richard: The Man Behind
the Magic published by Viking; 1991.
Another biography of Walt for kids.
Hammontree, Marie: Walt Disney,
Young Movie Maker published by Aladdin Paperbacks; 1997.
One more juvenile biography of Walt.
Houghton Comfort, Mildred: Walt Disney, Master of Fantasy published by T.S.
Denison; 1968.
Juvenile book.
Jachnin, Boris: Walt Disney published by CS Filmovy Uslav; 1989.
The first biography of Walt written in Czech. The illustrations are all very famous. No
document is really original in this work. Most of the iconography is of poor quality. An
oddity, though.
Jackson, Kathy Merlock: Walt Disney, a
Bio-Bibliography published by Greenwood Press; 1993.
By trying to do too much in too few pages, Kathy does not really succeed in creating an
in-depth reference book. The bibliography is interesting, though.
Jungersen, Frederik G.: Disney published by Det Danske Filmmuseum; 1968.
Nothing really new in this Danish biography of Walt. No new photos, no new info, just a
really nice cover featuring Walt with a paper hat.
Kurland, Gerald: Walt Disney, the Master of
Animation published by SamHar Press; 1971.
Juvenile book.
Leebron, Elizabeth; Gartley, Lynn: Walt Disney, a Guide to References and Ressources published by G.K. Hall; 1979.
Lynch, Wendy: Walt Disney
(Lives and Times) published by Heineman Library; 1998.
One more juvenile book about Walt.
Mosley, Leonard: The Real Walt
Disney published by Crafton; 1985.
"Walt was not so nice but he did some interesting things" could be the summary
of this critical and rather negative book. This book was published in 1985 as Disney's
World.
Poncet, Marie Thérèse: Disney published by Anthologie du Cinéma; 1967.
This little booklet was written (in French) as an homage to Walt, just a few months after
his death. This biography is rather uninteresting, though.
Poncet, Marie-Thérése: Le Génie de Walt Disney self-published; 1995.
A strange biography that is mostly the result of a meeting of Walt by Mrs. Poncet in the
mid-'50s. Only the part about Disney in France in the '50s and '60s is really new. This
represents only a very small portion of the book, though.
Rider Montgomery, Elizabeth: Walt Disney, Master of Make Believe published by
Garrard; 1971.
Juvenile book.
Schickel, Richard: The Disney
Version published by Simon and Schuster; 1968, updated in 1997.
A strange so-called psychological analysis of Walt and his works. Not the worst of the
books mentioned here, though.
Schochet, Stephen: Fascinating
Walt Disney published by Hollywood Stories; 1998.
Published as an audio CD only.
Schroeder, Russell: Walt Disney,
His Life in Pictures published by Disney Press; 1996.
This is a small book and most of the photos are well known. However, some of them are real
jewels.
Selden, Bernice: The Story of
Walt Disney Maker of Magical Worlds published by Yearling Book; 1989.
A very long title for a very short book aimed at kids.
Shows, Charles: Walt, Backstage Adventures with Walt
Disney published by Windsong Books International; 1980.
A good insider's testimony by one of Walt's directors in the '60s. Interesting and at
times funny.
Smith, Dave (editor): Walt Disney, Famous Quotes
published by Walt Disney Theme Parks and Resorts; 1994.
The reference book to find the perfect Disney quote in all circumstances. This book used
to be an internal tool for cast members, speech writers,… before being released for
the general public.
Thomas, Bob: Building a
Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire published by
Hyperion; 1998.
The long awaited biography of Walt's brother - the one without whom most of the Disney
universe would not exist, the father of the current Animation Studio chairman.
Thomas, Bob: Walt Disney,
An American Original published by Simon and Shuster; 1976, revised 1994.
The "official biography" or "The Absolute Minimum there is to know about
the man who, together with The Mouse, started it all". The must have. If you only buy
one book about Walt history, you should buy this one. If you have to buy three, buy this
one plus Storming the Magic Kingdom and The Disney Touch.
Thomas, Bob: Walt Disney - Magician of the Movies
published by Grosset and Dunlap; 1966.
Juvenile.
Trethewey, Richard L.: Walt Disney, the
FBI Files published by Rainbo Animation Art; 1994.
After the publication of the infamous book by Mark Eliott, Richard decided to
"publish" all the documents contained in the FBI files about Walt Disney, to
help people make up their mind. A very well done and well analyzed document. This document
is not really published, though, as it is photocopies bound together.
Van Cottom, J.: Walt Disney, mon Ami published by Editions J.M. Collet; 1992.
Non-precise, self conscious author. Is this the story of Walt or of Van Cottom ? Written
in French.
Walker, Greta: Walt Disney published by G.P.
Putman's Sons; 1977.
Juvenile book.
Walt Disney published by Academic Industries; 1984.
Books to come
100th birthday of Walt Disney book; 2001.
Green, Howard; Green, Amy: Remembering
Walt - Favorite Memories of Walt Disney published by Hyperion; July 1999.
According to Persistence of Vision: "Green,
the extremely likable Vice President of Studio Communications (or "Hype" as he
is fond of claiming), has put together what has to be the greatest collection of memories
on one person ever compiled. This book will be, in my humble opinion, second only to Bob
Thomas’ Walt Disney: An American Original."
Lazo, Caroline Evensen: Walt Disney published by Dillon Press; 1999.
One more juvenile book about Walt.
Logue, Mary: Imagination -
The Story of Walt Disney; August 1999.
One more juvenile book about Walt.
Passaro, John: The Building of Disney published by Smart Apple
Media; 1999.
One more juvenile book!
Simon, Charnan: Walt Disney -
Creator of Magical Worlds published by Children's Press; 1999.
It is becoming more and more difficult to differenciate between all this juvenile books.
Smith, Dave; Clark, Steven: The Disney Century; One Hundred Years of Walt Disney and
the Disney Company
[tentative title] published by Hyperion; 1999.
All the books already
published
All the books to come
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Last updated June 29, 1999.