Between Books – Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual 2023

New year, same review?


I feel like I restate the same thoughts whenever I read the latest Hyperion Historical Alliance annual.

Maybe it’s because I feel “excluded” and I don’t like that. I’d like to think I’m pretty serious when it comes to history.

The “2023 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual” consists of five articles that span decades of Disney history from the early days of animation to the 1900’s in Disney parks. The five articles are:

• “Oswald the Laemmle Rabbit” by Tom Klein

• “Walt Disney and The Life of Hans Christian Anderson” by Didier Ghez

• “Woolie Reitherman Needs to Fly” A Disney Artist Goes to War” by Lucas O. Seastrom

• “1945-1946: Edgar Bergan and Disney’s Story Department” by Didier Ghez

• “Direct from the Islands: The Polynesian Magic of Pete Seanoa” by Nathan Eick

The articles are all written with an academic slant. And they have extensive footnotes with bibliographies showing source material. They definitely as a group are attempting to show the seriousness of Disney history.

For me, the most engaging topics were Oswald and Woolie Reitherman. Klein’s article demonstrated that the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was not fully in the mind of Walt Disney. In many ways, Oswald was a corporate creation, which reminded me of the modern studio and network system where executives, producers, and writers all have claim to pieces of the character. Disney’s additions were critical, providing Oswald with much of his character development and growth. But Klein makes it clearer that the Lucky Rabbit was a corporate rabbit not a Disney one. We might even call Oswald work-for-hire. The Reitherman article dives deep into the artist’s non-animation career as a military and civilian pilot. The article helps remind us of how the Greatest Generation was often more than one thing and career, which should inspire us! But it is also a history that includes World War II, transportation over The Hump into China, and the growth of commercial air travel.

The “2023 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual” to me has an audience, Disney fans who want serious historical research. They want their passion to be validated as a serious academic pursuit. I also think these fans, like me, would love to support the Hyperion Historical Alliance in their mission. In fact, my proof is the purchase, reading, and review of now four Annuals. I just think that they need to grow the mission. I am someone who has a master’s degree in history. I’d like to think I am taking my history seriously. I am also not currently mining archives for serious historical additions to the knowledge base. But I would like to support those that are doing so. As someone who’s been a member of the Society of Baseball Research, who has a model I think can be used here, I don’t get why this isn’t being democratized. I’ve also been a member of the Society for Military History and American Historical Association, founded in 1884 and very serious, which both have options for non-working historians.

The “2023 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual” is a collection of five historical articles that span the varying topics in Disney history. Most Disney fans, like I did, will likely find a topic of interest and comparisons to trends today in media. Again, I wish they would open membership up to a more scalable and likely-lasting membership model.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that Between Disney receives a percentage of sales purchased through links on this site.

Between Books - Buying Disney's World

 

I had heard some great buzz about Buying Disney's World, so I set myself up to enjoy this text on a long bus ride.  Yeah, a bus!  As I attended a trip with some of my favorite people I hoped that this journey into Florida of five decades ago would keep my interest and make the miles pass.  But in the end it got my interest in other ways as I began to question how some of the research was used.  

Buying Disney's World:The Story of How Florida Swampland Became Walt Disney World by Aaron H. Goldberg provides a fairly straightforward account of Walt Disney's interest in developing a East Coast city of tomorrow in Florida.  Goldberg breaks down the decisions of where to build in Florida, the steps taken to purchase the massive number of acres that Walt Disney wanted for his new project and Roy Disney's leadership in completing Walt Disney World.  The style is highly accessible with readers lacking Disney or in some cases legal knowledge able to understand the complicated steps taken to build the Florida resort.

For me Buying Disney's World is a mixed bag.  The text is very approachable and often engaging.  Goldberg really underscores the efforts and drive of two men in completing this park.  First, Walt Disney the man who would never see the finished dream who chose the site and had a vision that went beyond a theme park.  Second, Roy Disney, who cancelled his own retirement to build his brother's dream to the point of demanding that it open on time.  These personal aspects are fully drawn out and easy to see in the author's prose.

But I have concerns about the scholarship.  This monograph is full of extensive citations and provides a clear message, I am a serious historical study.   But I worry about how the author uses external sources.  One chapter includes what is in effect an extensive transcript of "The Florida Project" film which extends for pages and pages.  This text expands the chapter size and would perhaps could be better placed in an appendix with Goldberg providing readres analysis of the film instead.  But the piece that I found me scratching my head was another long quote, this time from Walt Disney discussing his love and respect of Roy Disney.  The citation is not to the original source of the quote.  Instead it is to a secondary source written about the brothers by Goldberg for a youth audience.  It wonder in this work what citation was provided, as it feels odd with the author citing his own work and for a less academic minded audience.

For me, Buying Disney's World is an accessible account of the development of Walt Disney World.  It was clear and at times emotionally engaging.  But for a more academic view of this time frame I still rely on Chad Denver Emerson's Project Future.  I hope that Buying Disney's World can draw readers into this fascinating story so they explore this topic in even greater detail.       

This post contains affiliate links, which means that Between Disney receives a percentage of sales purchased through links on this site.  

Dreaming Disney - Disney History Institute Podcast

If you are a Disney fan, it is a must. If you are a theme parks fan, it is a must. If you are a history fan, it is a must. If you are a story fan, it is a must. If you like to hear about creatives, it is a must.

What am I talking about?

I am talking about the podcast I have always wanted and did not know existed for over three years.

My newest podcast recommendation to everyone is the Disney History Institute Podcast. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. I have gotten friends who do not like Disney to binge episodes because the stories and production are just that good!

Disney History Institute Podcast by Todd J. Peirce is predominantly audio versions of Peirce’s articles from the Disney History Institute website. Along with Peirce’s well written articles is quality production with supporting audio beds and Peirce’s voice that helps pull you into a story. I have experimented a bit with scripted podcast episodes, and it is not as easy as it seems. But this podcast combines quality content with strong production values. It is convincing enough that I had to buy his book!

The content is basically audio presentations of Peirce's articles. I will be honest, though they have been available in text form, I have not read them. These articles are somewhat big at times and I do not have the time to sit online and read these articles in depth (yeah it is kind of ironic with this being a blog and all). So this audio presentation has given these articles a second life. But the best part is you really do feel like you are getting pulled into a story with Peirce serving as the storyteller. The topics fascinate me with me telling everyone to go listen to “The Bible Storyland Fiasco” immediately. I love this history which balances defects in personalities with the humorous thoughts of a Jungle Cruise Garden of Eden ride completely with sexism. The Disney fan will be drawn to the multipart expose on the Yippie Invasion, the infamous Studio field day, and glimpses into Walt Disney’s life. I will admit, after hearing his piece on Ruth Shellhorn I find myself kicking myself for not knowing more of her Disney story. Additionally, along with his articles, Pierce shares interview audio of Disney legends like Harriet Burns, Blaine Gibson, and Jack Lindquist.

The only real complaint is frequency. The episodes post when Peirce has one ready. So it is possible for long gaps. But it is good free content. A friend did point out to me that “Walt’s First Park Part 1” was never followed by a Part 2. But I found myself arguing, but buddy it’s free. My friend did go online to read the second part of the story.

Disney History Institute Podcast by Todd J. Peirce is my new favorite podcast I did not know existed. If you are a Disney fan, you need to subscribe now so when a new episode drops it is pushed to you. Because you will both learn and be entertained by this audio presentation.

Walt's Window's - Drunk History: The Birth of Mickey Mouse

When I was in college my favorite professor said there were two kinds of historical tales.  The first was told in a lecture hall.  The second was told from a bar stool.  It appeared he believed the second category all started with, "General Patton...."

Recently when watching Sky High I jumped over to a listing of actor Michael Angarano's recent work.  I stumbled on a segment of a show called Drunk History.  The concept of Drunk History is pretty simple.  You get a narrator drunk.  The narrator tells a historical tale, not about General Patton it appears, and actors attempt to play out out including syncing their mouths to the dialogue.  

Angarano's segment recounts the birth of Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.  And I was actually shocked how much fact there was in this recounting. 

Again, I was shocked about how "true" this drunk story was.  And this the narrator appears passionate, which allows him to keep his story mostly straight despite his chemically induced state!

Between Books - Star Wars and History

Often the best stories, are real stories. And George Lucas has always been clear that human history has provided him inspiration for the events that have occurred in his Star Wars galaxy. Editors Nancy R. Reagin and Janice Liedl have worked with other historians to create a collection of essays that demonstrate the intentional and unintentional linkages between Lucas’s galaxy and real life events in Star Wars and History. The text is divided into three parts; War, Politics and Economics. The authors in the 11 articles weave in and out of the history of our world with the world of Star Wars, including comparative pictures throughout the narratives. Topics of individual essays include rebellion, warrior-monks, dictators, women in politics, and cities in history. Additionally, color summary pages can be found in the text that highlights key points of the essays.

I found this book highly interesting as a concept, being both a former history major and a Star Wars fans. For me the concept was chocolate and peanut butter combined, but I worried would the finished product be a delicious peanut butter cup! Many a history book I have read in my time has been dry and lifeless. This book however, being Star Wars focused, will clearly have a wider audience than academics and I worried that the text would be inaccessible to Star Wars fans who knew little about history. Instead I found that the contributors did a fine job writing a text that has life to it. In fact I found some essays hard to put down. I think that this is largely due to the contributors’ love of Star Wars which helps them illuminate their topics. The authors have serious Star Wars credibility along with their academic credentials. I was impressed that the authors not only discussed the theatrical releases but the Expanded Universe and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And the pictures from both factual events and fictional ones add to the text, helping to support the authors’ points visually.

Due to my own past research the war essays were of the most interest to me. Having taught Mao Tse Tung’s People War in the past, I found William J. Astore’s article “Why Rebels Triumph” highly enlightening. He does an excellent job of demonstrating the three phrases of revolutionary warfare and how they play out in the rebellion against The Empire. A lifetime ago the comparisons he presents would have been stolen by me in my own teaching and improved my presentation on this topic. Additionally, I found Terrance Macmullan’s essay “Elegant Weapons for Civilized Ages” presenting his comparisons between Jedi Knights and Shaolin Monks, Samurai and Knights Templar both enlightening and entertaining. One of my criticisms of the text would be that lack of discussion of spirituality and the force. But Macmullan’s essay does provide clear comparisons especially between the spiritual beliefs of the Buddhist Shaolin Monks in the binding energy of quiz and Jedi beliefs of the Force, which also binds all things. Tony Keen’s “I, Sidous” provides clear examples of how Star Wars and especially the Emperor Palpatine were inspired by modern dictators like Adolph Hitler and his Nazi Germany. And Paul Finkleman’s “From Slavery to Freedom in a Galaxy Far Far Away” traces the history of n topic that is a blight of our own history and the fictional history of Star Wars, slavery. It has disturbed me both in the prequel movies and the Expanded Universe to the general blindness the Jedi have to this dehumanizing institution. Finkleman shows how we have as the human race have largely ignored the issue just as the Jedi do.

Who will find this book useful? First, Star Wars and history fans will separately find the book interesting. Star Wars fans will enjoy reading about the history and inspirations of their franchise. History fans will enjoy seeing historical events and how they play out in popular culture. Another use for this book in my opinion is for readers who struggle with enjoying and understanding history. The use of Star Wars examples will likely help these readers connect to the content and remember the key concepts. Back in my teaching days I would likely have never assigned Star Wars and History in the undergraduate courses that I taught due to my need for a very general texts. But there is a strong chance that I would have recommended the text to some students looking to find out more in an interesting way. Though I would admit it would be very fun to use Star Wars and History as a key textbook in a topics course on Star Wars.

For me Star Wars and History succeeds both as a history book and a Star Wars book. The connections between human history and the galaxy far far away are clear and the contributors do an excellent job expanding on connections fans were already aware of and introducing new parallels. Star Wars, Disney, sci-fi and history fans will all likely enjoy this text, and learn a little history on the journey.


Review Copy Provided by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.