Friday, August 15, 2008

New Book: Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends

While shopping at Disneyland tonight we came across a great new Disney book, WALT DISNEY'S IMAGINEERING LEGENDS AND THE GENESIS OF THE DISNEY THEME PARK.

The book is by Jeff Kurtti, author of the gorgeous coffee table book THE ART OF DISNEYLAND, as well as many other Disney-related books.

The official release date is August 26th but it's already on sale in Disneyana on Main Street.

Curiously, the cover shown on Amazon is different from the cover on the copy I purchased, shown here at the right.

The book looks like a great combination of detailed history and historical photos. There are chapters on "The Prototype Imagineers" (including Herb Ryman and Sam McKim), "The Story Department" (Marc Davis and Claude Coats), "The Model Shop" (including Harriet Burns, who recently passed away), "The Music Makers" (including the Sherman Brothers), "The Unofficial Imagineers" (including Ward Kimball), and "The Renaissance Imagineer," John Hench. These are a few of the best-known names in the book, but there are profiles of many more Imagineers and their contributions to Disneyland.

Here's an interview with Jeff Kurtti posted at Jim Hill Media close to a year ago.

This book is a "must" for anyone who loves Disneyland.

4 Comments:

Blogger Irene said...

This is the kind of thing my brother snaps up so I'm sure I'll get to see his copy.

I know an Imagineer. His sons (who are now in High School) were in my First Grade glass. He was one of two Imagineers who designed Mission Space back at Epcot. He used to bring me exclusive pins because he knew how much I loved Disney. Haven't seen him for awhile, so not sure what he's up to now.

9:21 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

That's a nifty connection, Irene! :)

(I'm glad they now have a less intense version of Mission Space, BTW. I tried the original version and once was enough!!)

Best wishes,
Laura

9:38 AM  
Blogger J.C. Loophole said...

This looks cool. My "film" book for this month is Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons which is a virtual textbook on Hollywood Animation history. It also has a lot of info on Disney- but doesn't go into the parks. I may have to put this one on my list. I'm trying to read one a month, either bio or overview - in addition to everything to prep for my classes!

5:28 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Based on flipping through it last night, this should be a really informative read, J.C. Let me know if you give it a try.

Your reading goal is great! (The one drawback to my self-employment as a proofreader is that it takes away so much of my personal reading time...) I read very good biographies of Gene Tierney and Robert Taylor during my recent vacation. Have been hoping to post mini-reviews here but haven't gotten to it, along with a couple other intended posts, as work has kept me so busy the last couple weeks...

Best wishes,
Laura

11:09 PM  

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