“The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life” by Steven Watts

“The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life” by Steven Watts • Hardcover • Houghton Mifflin, First Edition, 1998 • 526 Pages Condition: Excellent / Dust-jacket is missing —————————————————————————— The Magic Kingdom sheds new light on the cultural icon of "Uncle Walt." Watts digs deeply into Disney's private life, investigating his roles as husband, father, and brother and providing fresh insight into his genuine folksiness and warmth, his domineering treatment of colleagues and friends, and his deepest prejudices and passions. Full of colorful sketches of daily life at the Disney Studio and tales about the creation of Disneyland and Disney World, The Magic Kingdom offers a definitive view of one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. ————— Review “… a massive grab bag of a book! The Magic Kingdom is an invaluable mine of material on how the American century became the Disney century, a world from Russia to Chile dominated by a Disney-esque culture overseen by the company Walt created.” -- The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Tom Engelhardt “Part biography, part cultural history, The Magic Kingdom gives us a vivid portrait of the man behind Mickey Mouse, while at the same time situating his anomalous achievement within a social and aesthetic context… a terrifically readable and illuminating book. -- The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani