For years now, Disneyana fans have been waiting for a really great book about the “Florida Project.” A full-blown warts-and-all account of how Walt Disney came to select the Central Florida construction site for his visionary “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” … only to have the cowardly executives that Walt left behind wimp out and build Epcot Center instead.
That story would be a truly great yarn. Sadly, no one’s gotten around to writing it yet. (Mind you, I still hold out hope that Paul Anderson will eventually get around to producing his long promised “Project Florida” issue of “Persistence of Vision” magazine. Given the folks that Anderson’s interviewed over the years, I’m sure that Paul could deliver a truly killer retelling of the Disney World saga. How Epcot-the-city died and Epcot-the-theme-park came to be. So here’s hoping that Anderson eventually puts pen to paper again and finally makes good on his promise to deliver that issue. ANYWAY …)
So the really great version of the Epcot story hasn’t been written yet. Would you be willing to settle for a pretty good retelling of that story?
If so, then Steve Mannheim’s “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community” (2002, Ashgate Publishing) may be the book for you. Expertly researched and thoroughly footnoted, this volume may not be the juiciest read you’ve ever pick up. But it will at least give you a clear understanding of the chronology of events: who did what when.
Don’t get me wrong. I have great respect for Mannheim’s scholarship. It’s clear that Steve put years into researching “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community.” Going out of his way to interview numerous Disney veterans for their takes on the Epcot tale. People like John Hench, Ray Watson, Bob Gurr, and Harrison Price. Mannheim even got retired Disney Chairman E. Cardon Walker to go on record about how Walt Disney World rose up out of the swamps of Central Florida … yet Epcot-the-city never made it off the drawing board.
So why am I so hesitant to strongly recommend “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community”? Because (to be blunt) this book is so dry. You’d think that a story that was written about an entertainment company would at least be entertaining. But Mannheim’s manuscript misses the mark. It clearly seems to be aimed at the academic crowd (college professors, students of popular culture, etc.) rather than the general reader.
If you’re like me and are always looking for new books to add to your Disney reference library, then I can honestly recommend that you go pick up a copy of Steve Mannheim’s “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community.” Strictly from an educational point of view, given the book’s thoroughness and admirable documentation, this volume is well worth acquiring as a research tool.
But if you’re in need of a fun read … maybe you’d better take a pass on Mannheim’s manuscript. Given how juicy and fun “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community” could have been, I was surprised that this book was such a slow read.
You know what actually came to mind as I was reading “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community?” Bran cereal. As in: Here is something that I KNOW is good for me. But that doesn’t mean that I actually enjoy eating it … er … reading it.
Again, if you’re looking for a great new reference book for your Disneyana library, then — by all means — go pick up a copy of Steve Mannheim’s incredibly well-researched text. But if you’re looking for a really entertaining book to take to the beach, then maybe “Walt Disney and the Quest for Community” isn’t really for you.
Beyond that … can someone PLEASE tell Paul Anderson to get back to work on that “Project Florida” issue of “Persistence of Vision” magazine?
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