Between Books - Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond

I was super excited that Kindle Unlimited had Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond as a title I could check out as part of the service. Everyone enjoys Bob Gurr. He is a natural storyteller. I loved his Design: Just for Fun. And he is full of optimism. In fact it felt like a great read to match a rewatch of Tomorrowland with. But in the end, I felt like I read a book that was more Frank Walker than Bob Gurr.

Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond by Bob Gurr is the second autobiography offered by the Disney legend. The book starts very straightforward as the author discusses his family, early life, Disney career, and post Disney endeavors. Along with an outline of his life, the author provides topical chapters on his interests including automobiles, gliders, travel and society. The book provides no images and is strictly narrative. And the chapters are often focused on memories and opinions not designs and projects.

Honestly, you need a Bob Gurr book! But the book you need is Design: Just for Fun, if you can get it. For a Disney fan that book is a rich and detailed story of a career including Disney and non-Disney projects. While there are descriptions of his time at Disney and key projects, Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond largely lacks this level of detail and is largely musings and opinions paired with thoughts on hobbies. I did enjoy myself learning about gliders through Gurr’s eyes. But I found myself more greatly immersed in the earlier book including discussions of non-Disney topics like his work with Universal and the Olympics. And these are topics that he largely skips over.

My biggest concern with this self-published offering is the need for an editor. While Gurr notes that he follows grammar rules of his own making, these rules do not support his natural storytelling ability. For example, he adds notes in text, which would flow better without notes notation but just being included in his natural flow. And sometimes I as a reader had trouble keeping track of family members especially with some of them sharing a name. And his transitions can be rough, with one paragraph starting with a comment about today’s films lacking cartoon shorts followed in the next sentence by a comment about the draft. And editor would likely have helped smooth out these bump while making the book sound like Gurr’s own natural storytelling voice

What is also odd is Gurr comes off as a pessimist at times, just like Frank Walker. When I think of Gurr I think of curiosity, innovation and change. But Gurr often laments today’s modern life and looks back fondly at earlier times as the good old days. While we all likely romanticize our childhood, Gurr’s tone at times does not feel aligned with interviews and other writings I have experienced. It felt less optimistic than I expected and believe him to be!

Disney fans really do want do to explore the career and thoughts of Bob Gurr. But Bob Gurr: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond sadly is not as satisfying as Gurr’s earlier out of print and pricey used Design: Just for Fun. This newer offering does not dig as deep and really only gives readers a brush to Gurr’s fantastic career. The book does add more about his hobbies, which help show his whole personhood. But readers may feel like they have an incomplete picture of this great innovator and designer.

Between Books - Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: Walt Disney and Technology by Christian Moran promises to provide a history of Walt Disney and Technology.  While Moran provides a breakdown of Walt Disney's achievements pushing forward animation, transportation and even military thought; Moran really offers a history of an innovator and his role moving forward a variety of fields in the 20th Century.

Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow outlines innovations in Walt Disney's career from the development of Mickey Mouse and the use of sound in animated shorts to after Disney's death and how his ideas for EPCOT (the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) were or were not made a reality.  Moran's story is of a man who started in animated shorts, evolved his productions into feature length animated films, entered live-action and eventually entered the theme park business as a avenue to explore personal interests in community planning and changing the physical world.  Particularly interesting to me was the discussion of the development of Victory through Air Power during World War II which helped change the public's view of the use of the bomber and the development of an independent air service.  Also the discussions of the Tomorrowland segments of Disneyland and their impacts of American thought on space and transportation go beyond the expected discussions of the use of color and sound in animation.  Along with Moran's own discussion of Walt Disney the innovator are reflections from those who knew Disney such as Bob Gurr and Rolly Crump and Disney historians including Sam Gennawey and Jim Korkis.  

Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow is in many ways a focused biography of Walt Disney.  This text does not cover in any detail Disney's life before Mickey Mouse or his family interactions.  It is really a focused narrative that follows Disney's thoughts on technology and innovation.  For those who want to be inspired by an inspirational futurist of the 20th century, this book is really for them.  But if one wants to dig deep into every aspect of Disney's life, there are other titles to enjoy that lack the focus of this text.  Moran's focus is not a negative.  It really does deliver a story of Disney and innovation that provides the reader what they are looking for in a coherent and straight forward manner.  

Along with many history books I really have only one request, an index.  The book provides such a nice outline of Disney and technology that I can easily see a middle schooler or high schooler using this focused biography to help them better understand Walt Disney and innovation.  And I can see them using this text to help them craft a research paper.  I have been spending a lot of time with teens recently, so they are top of mind.  But I also have scribbled a note or two in my copy.  And I can see how this book would provide me inspiration in my own research especially when I do not want to pick up a larger and less focused Disney biography. 

Christian Moran in Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow provides his readers a focused biography of Walt Disney that connects Disney with technology and innovation.  And I just hope that like Moran predicts that Tomorrowland, though a box office under performer, and texts like this one can help promote Disney's beliefs in a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press

Between Books - Disney Destinies

Everybody has bad times.  Everybody just hits that rough patch you cannot get past, you think.  And everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes.  It is amazing what a little reminder of how others have moved past their obstacles can help cheer someone (including yourself) up.

Disney Destinies: How Passing, Patience and Determination Can Take Anyone Anywhere by Karl Beaudry recounts stories of Disney personalities and legends who experienced tough times and moved past them.  Beaudry starts with the big cheese himself, Walt Disney, reminding us of his setbacks including a bankruptcy and detractors who mocked his ideas.   Along with Walt Disney, Beaudry profiles Disney figures that you are likely aware of like Bob Gurr, Tony Baxter, Ward Kimball and more.  But he also spends time with lesser discussed figures like Vesey Walker, Owen Pope, and a surprise Disney personality Steve Martin.  The typical chapter is not a full biography but a look at specific incidents that the individual had to struggle with to become the success they later became.

I can see someone picking this up and believing it is a book of biographies like Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends.  Disney Destinies is not really a history book, it is an inspirational text.  I think an alternative name, in jest only, would be Chicken Soup for the Disney Fan's Soul (it does not appear such a book exists).  In this book the inspiration is not provided through moral tales or fables, but through the real-life stories of people that Disney fans will likely know or come to relate to by the end of the profile.  Why inspiration?  Beaudry makes it clear that he was reading a lot of Disney history during a rough patch in his life and found inspiration from the stories he was reading.  In short, he is now sharing what inspired him when he was undergoing a personal struggle.  Beaudry succeeds in sharing this inspiration by providing easy to read text with smooth connections between the story and where the individual could claim success.

Though I will admit with me being a history fan there were still insights I pulled out of the book.  I did not realize how the lose of Roger Broggie's father as a young child put him on the path towards his later career.  And I did find the thoughts on Steve Martin's career, including his job at Disneyland as a youth before the magic shop and his long years as a stand-up without success as a story of perseverance.  And I had never really thought about the fact that the Popes relocated their entire lives to Disney property from the Studio to Disneyland to Walt Disney World throughout the decades to support Walt Disney's dream.  

I could see giving this book to a Disney fan facing a personal struggle since they will connect to the profiled figures.  I could also see giving this book to a young adult just starting to dig into Disney history since there are a number of individuals that they will be introduced to who will come up again in their reading.  I would probably not suggest this to someone who wanted an in-depth history of the Walt Disney Company, as this is not the book's purpose.  With a Kindle version priced at $4.99 it would be an easy book to give to a Disney minded friend who needs inspiration.

Everyone struggles sometimes and everyone needs some inspiration.  As Karl Beaudry points out there are no real dead-end jobs.  There are only steps in one's story.  Disney Destinies reminds us that even those we admire faced difficulties in their lives.  And like them we can overcome them.     

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press

Between Books - More Cute Stories Volume 4: 1964/65 New York World's Fair

I really do feel like the More Cute Stories series of recordings by Rolly Crump really hit a peak with the last volume.   And I am eager for more, especially after a volume that was organized so well around a central theme.   As I started Volume 4, I hoped my enthusiasm would still be high!

More Cute Stories Volume 4: 1964/65 New York World's Fair narrated by Rolly Crump details Crump's experiences with a key moment in Disney history, the 1964 - 1965 World's Fair.  This period of Disney history allowed Walt Disney to test the appetite for an East Coast park and ushered in attraction expansion at Disneyland.  Crump discusses how he was transferred from Disneyland to World's Fair projects.  He details the numerous projects he was part of including it's a small world, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Carousal of Progress and many more.  Along with the details of attraction design he also highlights the people he worked with and the experience of being a West Coaster living in New York.

For me the real joy in this volume is Mary Blair.  Rolly clearly enjoyed working with Blair and as having her as a mentor.  He goes into detail discussing his early impressions of her art.  And he outlines their first meeting.  You get the sense as Rolly talks that he saw Blair as someone who helped foster his design skills.  Crump's enthusiasm for his late friend is clear.  And one cannot admire Blair as he talks about his friend.  And as a Disney fan it is especially exciting as he discusses the private moments like touring New York.  Along with Blair, Crump raves about Bob Gurr who Crump declares to be his friend.  And anyone who has read about the two men can see how they could be fast friends.  And with all of these volumes, admiration for Walt Disney is undeniable. 

Crump does promise discussion of the "wild times" after work.  Yes he does share some stories including one that lead to a 30 year rift!  But one does not get the sense of a party atmosphere beyond typical adults playing on a work trip.  Though I do wonder how a Disney Legend feels about Crump recounting his last day on site at the World's Fair!

More Cute Stories Volume 3 is still my favorite.  But the use of a centralized theme in More Cute Stories Volume 4: 1964/65 World's Fair shares the idea of a topical foundation that makes both volumes a road map that allows the reader to know their place in the story.  And like past volumes, hearing these stories straight from a Disney Legend is exciting and worth the cost (which as Bamboo Forest Publishing often does includes a economical digital version).  For Disney history fans, this title is a fun must have for the audio Between Books collection. 

Review Copy Provided by Bamboo Forest Publishing

Between Books - More Cute Stories, Volume 1: Disneyland History

I am a big fan of It’s Kind of a Cute Story by Rolly Crump as Told to Jeff Heimbuch. I have heard Heimbuch mention several times on podcasts over the last few years that Crump had more stories than they could fit in the book. As a Disney history fan, one does not want to see these tales be lost. And thankfully they have found a new outlet to get these memories out to the fans.

In the audio presentation More Cute Stories, Volume 1: Disneyland History, Disney fans can hear Crump tell the stories himself. Heimbuch provides a brief intro but for the rest of the nearly hour-long presentation it is all Crump. I assume that Heimbuch was the original audience, and that some of the content may have been recordings assembled when they were working on the earlier book. But regardless of their original intent they are delightful to hear.

The stories in this volume are mostly early Disneyland history. Crump starts, as it should with the beginning of the park before it even opened. And Crump includes the first time he meet Walt. But my favorite cute stories are maintenance and personalities. I chuckled as he described the poor state of mainatanence in “early” Disneyland where wood rotted quickly and his account of the “ice pick test” had me laughing as I was taking a lunchtime walk. And I loved hearing Crump sharing his thoughts on other Disney Legends, especially Bill Evans and Bob Gurr. With Gurr we find out their first meeting was over an automobile, which only seems right. The stories are generally frank, factual and honest. For example, he makes it clear that not all the entertainment occurring on Grad Nights was sponsored by the Mouse!

So this is an audio presentation not a printed book. So did it work for me? Rolly Crump is not a professional speaker per say but has spoken in public often. But the stories felt more candid than a polished formal presentation given to a large theater. His frequent use of the word “Cute”, which ties back to his book, gives his presentation a folksy intimate feel. The volume is all Rolly and there is no digging deeper into the topic with follow-up questions. So it is not an interview. What I would equate More Cute Stories to is an oral history as the stream of thought is not interrupted but the subject leads the discussion. The other comparison point is podcasts. A fan may be able to get some of this material from a podcast, but should expect interruptions from the hosts instead of leaving Crump in the spotlight. And one does not have to sit through the advertising that you would typically find in a podcast.

In light of free podcasts, though one has to search, would I suggest buying the CD for $9.95? For those that like physical copies, yes I think you would want this if you are a Disney history fan. The fact that you get to hear the stories from Crump himself is a huge attraction. But if the price scares you off, you can download the volume from Amazon for only $4.99. That seems more than fair for the good content, hearing the voice of a Disney Legend recount his own stories, and the ability to make it portable. Honesty, this is volume one and I am looking forward to the arrival of volume 2. Honestly, I can think of several late Imagineers from this period that I wish had been captured in this format.

More Cute Stories, Volume 1: Disneyland History delivers to the Disney fan’s ears stories of early Disneyland from a man who experienced the park while still under the watchful eye of Walt Disney. Disney fans will enjoy hearing Crump’s cute stories. And hopefully more will be on the horizon.





Review Copy Provided by Bamboo Forest Publishing

Dreaming Disney - Bob Gurr: The Wizard of Wheels

My profile of Disney Legend Bob Gurr is now available online at WDWNT: The Magazine. 

This profile took months to complete and was one of my most involved biographies that I have undertaken.  Why?  Because Gurr was involved in almost everything.  And he did not slip quietly into the night after his Disney years but continued a vibrant design career.

I hope you enjoy the story of the man who is truly the Dean of Disney Wheeled Vehicles!

Between Books - Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers

There is a chance that you have never heard of Arrow Development.  But if you have ever visited the Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort you probably have experienced their work.  While you are likely aware of the legendary Imagineers who designed and themed the early attractions introduced by Disney, it was Arrow Development Co. which manufactured and built many of the classic rides we still love today.

Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers: The Story of Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon Ride Inventors of the Modern Amusement Parks by Robert R. Reynolds documents the growth of Arrow Development from a start-up company to the premier manufacturer of theme park attractions.  Reynolds alternates between narrative sections on the background and history of Arrow Development and founders Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon and transcripts of interviews with Morgan and Bacon.  The author and interviews chronicle how Morgan and Bacon started a small machine shop after World War II, with a truck as one of their most valuable assets and grew their successful business.  Their early jobs included contracts with the U.S. Navy, Stanford Linear Accelerator and a crop dusting company, not entertainment companies.  Morgan and Bacon decided to bid on a merry-go-round in San Jose, California, their first steps into the amusement industry.  Arrow’s later small scale paddle boat, the Lil’ Belle, caught the interests of Disney which was making it own strides into the amusement industry in the early 1950’s with a project called Disneyland.  Arrow would be contracted to build the creations of Disney’s talented designers including King Arthur’s Carousel, Casey Jr., Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures for Disneyland’s opening day.  With the success of these attractions and the successful contributions Arrow Development provided, they became a highly influential ride manufacturing firm within the growing amusement industry.  Reynolds outlines the continued successes with both Disney and other companies.  Reynolds’ narrative discusses continued successes such as it’s a small world, the Monorail, and Pirates of the Caribbean working with Disney and other clients.  The author also outlines Morgan and Bacon’s relationship with Arrow Development and Arrow’s legacy today including the roller coaster design firm D.H. Manufacturing led by Ed Morgan’s son Dana.       

I had heard of Arrow Development, but reading Bob Gurr’s Design: Just for Fun hit home for me the key role this company had in the early days of Disneyland.  Gurr made it clear that Arrow delivered what Imagineers dreamt.  And Gurr’s book led me to pick up Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers.  Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers pays off in providing greater detail in Arrow Development’s early and ongoing role with Disneyland and later the Walt Disney World Resort.  What are especially gratifying are the long sections of Morgan and Bacon in their own words discussing Walt Disney, other Disney personalities and the complexity of designing the attractions and ride vehicles tasked to them.  Their stories literally go into the underside of many of our favorite Disney rides and provide explanations of how they were engineered.  Though Reynolds’ commentary is readable and helpful, it really is the words of the founders of Arrow Development that catch the reader’s attention.  I have seen some reviews that have noted the text is highly technical and unreadable.  I am allergic to math and though some of their explanations were above my head I never found them so distracting that I had to stop reading.  Instead I found the book easy to read and the technical aspects are just a small detour.            

In many ways my thoughts on Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers are a value question.  To buy a used copy on Amazon.com at the moment is a minimum of $40 with some copies over $100.  This is collector book territory for me and I expect rarity or a bonus to make the purchase worthwhile.  I honestly could not see ever paying $20 for this book.  I would need a specific research reason to pay this much for a non limited edition autographed collectible book.  Luckily the Between Wife is introducing me more and more to eBooks.  While I cannot see spending $40 for this book, I think the $4.99 for the Kindle version is a steal. 

However, I do want to add that for me there were issues with images reading this text on Kindle apps across several devices, none of them an actual Kindle.  The text includes a number of black and white images.  However, for me they were difficult to see.  They were not scaled well typically not taking up the full screen.  And they did not enlarge well, making it difficult for me to look at the fine details.  I am sure in the print version the pictures are very beneficial but in the electronic form they were almost distracting at times. 

Who is Arrow Development, Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon and why as a Disney fan should I even care?  Roller Coasters, Flumes, and Flying Saucers makes it clear that they were key partners in the foundation of Disneyland and the later expansion into Florida.  Robert P. Reynolds provides us a useful commentary of this relationship, one that relies heavily on the words of the Arrow Development founders.  And at $4.99 for an electronic version readers can add a useful book to their Between Book library.    

Between Books - Design: Just For Fun

Memories change, fade and play tricks on us.

And sadly sometimes those who spent times with legends pass away without recording their memories.

Over the last several years there has been talk of the passing of the World War Two generation and the loss of their memories and tales.  Some authors and archives made efforts to collect these stories before they could no longer be claimed.  Sadly we are losing another generation of legends.  Only a few of Walt’s Nine Old Men are still with us and there are increasing fewer and fewer Disney Legends who helped Walt Disney build Disneyland.  Who would not have loved a memoir written by Ward Kimball or Marc Davis?  Let’s be honest every Disney fan would enjoy it!  We still have a number of these men and women that we can only call legends available to us and hopefully we will have them for years to come.  And over the next decades I hope we as a Disney community can capture as much of their memory as possible so the Between Kids and their kids can read and hear about what it was like working with Walt Disney, remembering that he was a person and not a company.

Bob Gurr in Design: Just for Fun recounts his life including how he became an Imagineer, the projects he worked on, and his life after Disney which can hardly be called a retirement.  Gurr outlines his childhood and his difficulties with the traditional educational system, urging parents of problem children that they may be parenting a creative.  He recounts how he joined Imagineering as a young adult, with no college degree, tasked to design Autopia.  Gurr would go on to contribute to a list of classic and beloved Disney attractions including the Main Street Vehicles, the Matterhorn, the Monorail, the Ford Magic Skyway, the Abraham Lincoln figure for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and the Omnimover used in numerous Disney dark rides to just name a few.  Gurr goes in depth into the design of these attractions, including the choices he made, manufacturing, and performance.  After a long career with Disney, Gurr was laid off or quit depending on the story, and started his own design firm with its own impressive list of accomplishments including the Michael Jackson 1984 victory tour, UFO for the 1984 Olympics closing ceremony, the King Kong figure for Universal Studios, and the Treasure Island Pirate Battle show.  The book finishes with Gurr’s comments on design, how to become an Imagineer and what it was like working with Walt Disney.

Gurr provides tons of insight into how Disney designers and himself created.  A reoccurring theme is his use of stock parts.  In building the Monorail for example he did not attempt to create new components if avoidable, but searched through automotive parts catalogs.  By using this method he could ensure parts with service records and could avoid the need for specialized manufacturing.  One does not think stock parts when considering Disney’s attractions, but was an eye opener to realize how much under the hood was off the rack.  Another realization is the discussion of the use of contractors like Arrow Dynamics to build attractions instead of building in house. 

This book is rich with Gurr having a lot to say based on a long and impressive career.  The book consists of short chapters, rarely longer than four to five pages.  Gurr is a designer and clearly not a writer.  The opening chapters on his early life are somewhat choppy.  And there are occasions where Gurr repeats himself.  Once he enters the chapters covering his design projects the text begins to flow more fluidly.  The writing is at times very technical and somewhat above my head.  Math is hard!  You can really tell he enjoyed his projects and loves building things.  The book is very richly illustrated with fantastic photographs of Gurr’s creations and blueprints.  Three are a few instances where the illustrations are distracting, with pictures dividing blocks of text  and the reader seeking to find the continuation of the thought on the other side of the picture. 

This book is quite expensive.  Personally I had to think through very painfully if I would purchase the title.  In the end, I felt like it was something I could only read if I purchased it for myself.  You will not find this title in a public library.  It is extremely limited to 2,000 copies (1,000 red versions autographed and numbered).  Gurr explained in an interview with Moustalgia that he intended for the book to keep its value for collectors.  He argues he is not only selling a memoir but also a collector’s item.  At the time of this posting, there are only blue editions remaining.  

Design: Just for Fun shows the depth of Bob Gurr’s work in themed attractions and provides his memories of working for Disney and others.  Where else can one read of a Disney legend laying underneath the Mad Tea Party to observe its wear patterns?  Gurr is a legend with fantastic stories to share.  Now fans can keep those stories within your Disney library with Design: Just for Fun.

     

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