Walt Disney The American Dreamer

Walt Disney accomplished more in one life than any other modern entertainment executive. His achievements are well documented. But how did this man, who quit school after his freshman year to become an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in France, achieve all the things he did? Walt once said, “If we can dream it, we can do it.” Then he showed the world how to give cartoons a heart, make an animated feature film, and build Disneyland. Experts bet on his failure at every turn. When Walt did encounter major setbacks he had a way of turning them into a success. He didn’t do it alone. His brother Roy was there his entire life to make his dreams financially possible. Walt carefully built teams of animators, motion picture production executives, and Imagineers who wanted to share in his dreams.

This book focuses on how he did it and the key people who helped him. It is a compilation of facts learned through friendships with people who worked directly with Walt Disney while he was alive, plus interviews with others close to Walt. The public record and many other books written about Walt’s life also support the work.

Walt Disney has been described as complex, difficult to work with, and a workaholic. This book shows how simple his methods were and how he got so many people to want the same things he did.