One of the more common questions I get is what books are behind me on this bookshelf,
and what Disney books I recommend for people to read, so that’s exactly what we’re
going to cover today.
So I’m going to go over five books, but if you want to find a longer and more comprehensive
list, I’ve put one together over at
It lists all of the books by category, includes a short blurb about why I think it’s worth
reading, and offers a link to where you can get the book to read yourself.
The five I’m going over today are books that I believe are lesser known, but offer
some valuable insight for hardcore Disney fans out there.
First up might seem like an odd one.
Storming the Magic Kingdom by John Taylor is an in-depth account at the attempted hostile
takeover of The Walt Disney Company in the early 1980s.
In some of my videos I talk about how Disney wasn’t in a great spot then, and how it
took an effort lead by Roy E Disney to oust Miller and the old guard so that Michael Eisner
and Frank Wells could take over.
This is all about that.
Now, it’s a business book first and foremost.
You’re going to get more talk about stocks, revenue, and board meetings than magic and
storytelling, but to me that’s why it’s fascinating.
For as much as we love Disney for the movies and rides, it is still a business at the end
of the day, and reading the story of how one of America’s most beloved businesses almost
got taken over is worth it.
This next book is my latest read, and it’s one I was really pleasantly surprised with.
Cleaning the Kingdom by Ken Pellman and Lynn Barron is the author’s accounts of working
as a members of the custodial staff at Disneyland for over fifteen years.
Cleaning the Kingdom offers a look at what I think a lot of guests overlook but is a
crucial role in preserving the magic.
There’s a chapter that covers in detail what someone’s full day is like working
at the parks, and there’s even a chapter dedicated to the especially gross stories
about cleaning Disneyland.
It’s less of a history book, but a fun read nevertheless.
Next up is The Disneyland Story by Sam Gennawey.
This book is a fantastic example of not judging a book by its cover.
At first glance it looks like one of those annual guide books for first-time tourists
who are intimidated by a Disney vacation.
However in reality it’s an extremely comprehensive look at the history, building, and running
of Disneyland.
It covers everything from Walt’s original idea all the way up until the opening of Disney’s
California Adventure.
It’s full of anecdotes of Walt’s influence on the parks after it opened and also covers
the more practical issues of running a theme park.
For anyone who is a fan of learning about the parks behind-the-scenes, this is a must read.
The fourth book on my list is actually two books, and they’re pretty unconventional
as far as Disney books go.
Volume one and two of A Historical Tour of Walt Disney World by Andrew Kiste are two
books that go beyond the history of attractions.
Instead, these books focus on the history of the inspirations for the rides.
The example I use is Pirates.
The Pirates of the Caribbean chapter isn’t about the history of the ride, it’s about
the history of piracy in the caribbean during the era the ride is based on.
Beyond just offering historical context for the ride’s inspirations, the books will
also weigh up the rides to see how historically accurate they are.
The Spaceship Earth chapter in volume two is my favorite in particular, as it goes over
every scene in the ride.
Kiste is even able to use context clues from the set dressing, animatronics, and costumes
to pinpoint a date range in which scenes like the Roman one take place.
Last up is a book I’ll suggest until the end of time.
Disney War by James B. Stewart is my favorite Disney book, not to mention the most comprehensive
look at the Eisner era of Disney I’ve ever read.
Similar to Storming the Magic Kingdom, this is a business book primarily.
It focuses on the business deals, the meetings, the contracts and the revenue.
However where Storming is more about the Wall Street takeover attempt, this is about the
turnaround and growth of the Disney company.
So there’s plenty of mention of stuff like the Little Mermaid or MGM Studios, but it’s
not about the magic of them.
It’s about box office motivations, production issues, construction plans, and so on.
To get an insight to how the decisions that have lead to some of the most memorable Disney
projects get made is an interesting one, and the way Stewart tells these stories is engaging
enough that this is one of the few Disney books I’ve re-read multiple times.
Anyway there you have it.
You can’t go wrong with any of these.
Like I said at the top of the video, you can find links to all of these, and the rest of
the books on my shelf, the good ones at least, over at
I’ll also be sure to put the link in the description below.
Also for the sake of complete transparency the links on that page are Amazon affiliate
links, so if you do decide to pick up any of these books, it’ll also be helping out
the channel!
Now I want to hear from you!
If you have a Disney book recommendation for everyone, be sure to leave it in the comments
so we can get one big Disney book list going.
Thank you all for watching, and I’ll see you next time!