Between Books - The Vault of Walt Volume 2

I honestly have not followed a lot of Jim Korkis' blog posts.  I am still a print guy, so for me The Vault of Walt was pretty much all new material.  And there were some essays that I still often reflect on when mulling Disney history.  But with the original printing now out of print and the cheapest copies at the time of this posting starting in the mid $50 range, I just cannot recommend that edition.  Now fortunately it does appear that the price has been dropping thanks to the printing of The Revised Vault of Walt.   But the revised edition did not collect all of the original material.  Could a second volume of this series make all of the original content available at an affordable price?

The Vault of Walt Volume 2: More Unofficial, Unauthorized, Uncensored Disney Stories Never Told by Jim Korkis continues in collecting his essays on Disney history.  Like the earlier versions this book is broken into four sections; Walt Disney Stories, Disney Film Stories, Disney Park Stories, and Other Disney Stories.  The essays are not connected and can be read out of order.  Essays printed before include: "Santa Walt", "Blackbeard's Ghost", "Captain Eo", and "Golden Oak Ranch".  New stories range from "Walt and NASA", "Secrets of the Santa Cartoons", "The Birth of the Disneyland Jungle Cruise", and "The Seven Snow Whites" which show the diversity of the included essays.

The Vault of Walt Volume 2 contains 15 new essays.  And honestly some of these essays caught my interest just with their titles matching some of my own personal interests.  I am a huge fan of Roy O. Disney so I enjoyed diving into "Roy O. Disney: The Forgotten Brother Who Built the Magic Kingdom" which does a great job of showing the elder brother's role in getting the Florida resort built.  And "Walt's Chicago" provides background to Walt Disney's relationship with his birthplace.  And of course in the wake of Saving Mr. Banks the essay "Mary Poppins: Walt Disney and P.L. Travers" delves into the story of Disney courting Travers and her opinion of the finished Mary Poppins. 

The stories themselves are generally short and clear.  They are easy to read and in many cases discuss a piece of Disney history not normally touched on.  It would be an easy book to enjoy on a number of train rides where you stop and start the text over and over again (which may be the way I read this volume).  The majority do read like detailed blogs, and those who have read them before may want more new content.  But I am someone who has only read these tales in the print format.  Yes, in the electronic age I was first exposed to these in a physical form. 

Let's look at the tale of the tape though.  There are two essays in the original volumes that I cannot find reprinted in The Revised Vault of Walt and The Vault of Walt Volume 2.  The  first essay, "Song of the South Premiere" has likely not been reproduced since Korkis now has in print Who's Afraid of the Song of the South which includes a chapter on the premiere.  The second essay, "Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air", is a highly interesting essay on Mickey Mouse in the era of old time radio.  So for half the price of the original volume, you can buy The Revised Vault of Walt and The Vault of Walt Volume 2 and lose one essay with the trade off of 20 new ones.  Or one can buy the two Kindle versions for a fifth of the original's current used price.  So I think it is obvious the Between Books recommendation is to buy the two books instead of tracking down a used copy of the original.

Fans of Jim Korkis will want The Vault of Walt Volume 2 in their collection.  Serious Disney fans will want this volume for the unique content found in its pages.  And those more casual Disney fans can find plenty of enjoyment within.  And best of all, nearly all of the originally printed essays can be purchased for a reasonable price!


Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press 


  

Between Books - The Revised Vault of Walt

Jim Korkis in The Revised Vault of Walt makes some of his earlier writings found in the out-of-print The Vault of Walt available again in print. In this newly revised edition some stories have been removed, largely to make a smaller edition. In this new version, 14 of the original chapters have been removed, with five new additions in their place. The new five chapters cover:

• “Eating Like Walt” – A discussion of Walt Disney’s favorite foods.

• “And the Oscar Goes To…Walt Disney” – Highlights from Walt Disney’s numerous Academy Awards.

• “The Carousel of Progress” – A history of the ride currently at the Walt Disney World Resort.

• “The Man Who Shot Walt Disney” – An essay on Disneyland photographer Renie Bardeau.

• “The Song of the South Frequently Asked Questions” – A preview of Korkis’ book Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South.

Otherwise the stories carried over from The Vault of Walt appear largely unchanged, except for some editing to the “Introduction”.

I think the first obvious question is why a revised edition? The clearest reason is the original The Vault of Walt is now out of print and not readily available. With a new publisher who has bought the content and which also published Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South it was decided to put a new edition into the market. Korkis states in “The Welcome to the Revised Edition”,

I wanted a more streamlined, travel-size version available at a more affordable price. It was agreed that doing so might attract new readers who were intimidated by the size and the price of the original edition, despite all the good reviews.

And honestly, one of the first things I noticed when I saw my copy was the smaller size of this revised edition. Which of course lead me to seek out what was removed.

Since the chapters are essays the removals do not take away from the remaining chapters. Some removals seem logical, such as “Song of the South Premiere” which is a topic now covered now in Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South. Others like “Santa Walt” and “Return to Marceline 1956” were some of my favorites since they covered the lives of Walt and Roy O. Disney. I am one of these readers who was not intimidated by the size of the first edition. In fact, I reveled in the original, giving myself three weeks to savor the book. But Korkis and his publisher do promise a Vault of Walt Sampler for Kindle in the future containing the missing chapters.

Of the new additions, they are typical of Korkis’ writing, so Korkis fans will enjoy the style. They are clear and factual. The chapter of Walt Disney’s food favorites led me ask if the Between Wife would make Walt Disney’s chili recipe, I was told she liked her’s better. Despite her resistance, the chapter really shows how Walt Disney’s tastes were simple, likely due to his upbringing. And the chapter on the Academy Awards really highlighted for me the recognition that Disney received for his film innovations. And the chapter on Bardeau provides an intimate glimpse of Walt the man and employer to me. The only one that did not hit with me was Song of the South chapter, mostly due to the fact I have Korkis’ full book on this topic. The FAQ really just highlights topics you can find more in depth in that book.

When I reviewed The Vault of Walt I stated, “This book is excellent and should be on the shelves of every Disney library.” So is this statement still true. First, I am someone who liked the bigger edition, and even with the additions the revised version is 9 stories short. Some may actually enjoy this fact due to the smaller size. But some of my favorite chapters are now absent. And this new edition seems to have a printing problem in the second half of the book with type that appears smeared though still readable, in my copy. But, the original is out of print! And honestly, the secondary price for the original is outrageous. Just checking as I write this review there are copies listed on Amazon for over $500. So I simply cannot recommend seeking out the original. If you did not get a copy of the original, you must purchase The Revised Vault of Walt, since it financially makes sense and has plenty of the content I enjoyed in the original. Then once the Kindle sampler is released, you will be ahead of the game with access to more tales than the original offered. If you own the original, I would suggest the Kindle edition to get the new essays for a lower cost than a print edition.

I found The Vault of Walt to be a surprise hit for me. And I am thankful that Theme Park Press and Jim Korkis have found a solution to make most of this content available at an affordable price. When their plan is complete, we will all have access to more content that the original provided without missing a few car payments.


Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press

Update: The publisher contacted me after posting this review and reported he completed a check of the copies he had on hand looking for smeared ink.  The copies he had did not have the ink issue, so this is not an universal issue and my copy is likely an exception.

Additionally, he added that The Vault of Walt Sampler will be available in early March 2013 for $3.99.  And he reports that along with the stories that were not reproduced in The Revised Vault of Walt that four additional stories will be added.  So readers who have not yet enjoyed the Vault of Walt but purchase the Sampler and The Revised Vault of Walt will have nine more stories than the original provided with a decreased cost even when combining the two titles. 

On a side note, this is really why I enjoy working with independent publishers, responsiveness.  These publishers generally listen to the fans and their concerns.  So thank you Theme Park Press and others that I have reviewed for in being attentive to your customers and fans. 

Mousey Movies - Destino

Still From "Destino"

One of the topics discussed in Jim Korkis' The Vault of Walt is the short film "Destino".  This film was a collaboration between Walt Disney and famed artist Salvador Dali which began in the 1940s and was not completed until 2003 by Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney.

Salvador Dali

To say the film is visually interesting is an understatement!  So instead of trying to describe the film, ladies and gentlemen, "Destino": 

That is the most interesting baseball game I have ever seen!

What did you think of "Destino"?