Monday, October 24, 2016

I can't stand the cover of this book but apparently, from what I hear, its content is excellent. According to the publisher:

[On the Road with Walt

British university professor and Disney scholar Lee Brooks chronicles the road trip he took with his family from Anaheim to Orlando, and all "Walt" points in between, in search of how America molded Walt Disney, and how Walt gave voice to our values, our dreams, and a big slice of our pop culture.

The best way to understand Walt Disney is to follow in his footsteps—literally. And the best way to understand his "mythical America" is to look at it through the perspective of someone foreign to it. On a road trip! In the passenger seat of a rented blue Ford Fusion, Lee Brooks attempts to unravel the skein of history, fantasy, and pop culture that for a few decades took the guise of Walt Disney.

Watch for the exit signs to:

- Anaheim, California, where the trip begins, and where the spirit of Walt Disney is seen reflected in the windows along Main Street, USA

- Kansas City, Missouri, where the McConahay Building, home to Walt Disney's first studio, Laugh-O-Gram, still stands, in derelict grandeur

- Marceline, Missouri, where the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, in the stillness of an old railroad depot, opens for a few hours each day to reveal its preserved relics from Walt's past

- Orlando, Florida, where the Magic Kingdom that Walt inspired but didn't live to visit still evokes much of what's mythical about America, and about Walt himself

ARE WE THERE YET?]

No comments: