Between Books - The Disney Interviews: Volume I

 

 

The Walt’s People series has really created a gold standard for interview/oral history volumes on our Disney bookshelves.  These books create a benchmark that even experienced authors and interviews may struggle to maintain.  So, while the idea of an experienced interviewer moving audio interviews into a text format may seem like a no-brainer, sadly it can still go wrong. 

The Disney Interviews: Volume I by Lou Mongello transcribes interviews from the popular WDW Radio podcast into book format.  Each chapter consists of a brief introduction by the author about the context of the interview and some thoughts about the event.  The bulk of the chapter is a transcription of the interview.  Those included are a wide range of Disney celebrities including the well-known Julie Andrews, Alice Davis, Marty Sklar, and Richard Sherman.  But it also includes figures like Al Konetzni and Ralph Kent that may not be on every Disney fan’s radar.

This volume shows how difficult it can be to create a book, even when you have strong material.  In short, this book needs an editor desperately.  There are numerous text errors that create both reading discomfort and factual errors.  It makes one wonder if a simple transcription program was used to move the words into text, and then perhaps not carefully reviewed.  There are numerous grammatical errors.  But factual errors also frequent the book.  I was wondering who Dick Nunez was as he seemed to have had an impact on Tom Nabbe’s career.  I eventually figured out it was Dick Nunis.  But I was taken out of my experience as I pieced this puzzle together.  There are even factual errors in the introductions.  For example, in the Al Konetzni interview readers are directed to the full podcast episode 511, which is the Bill Sullivan interview. 

The Mongello interviews are comforting to hear.  They may be fancentric, but they really are like sitting down with an old friend when you hear them.  I really was looking forward to revisiting these interviews in a new way.  Sadly, instead I found The Disney Interviews: Volume I to be distracting and periodically frustrating to read.  I borrowed a Kindle edition and would really like to see this material edited and updated to provide what should be a fine reading experience. 

 

 

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Between Books - From Disneyland's Tom Sawyer to Diseny Legend

From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend: The Adventures of Tom Nabbe by Tom Nabbe outlines a Disney career that arches over 5 decades.  Nabbe was there on opening day at Disneyland, standing in the crowd as invited guests entered the park.  The youngster would actually get to enter the park that first day though he would not be able to ride his favorite ride.  Nabbe’s history with the park actually started earlier as he relocated to Anaheim and was lucky enough to watch the park grow up from the orange groves it replaced.  The boy started in the park selling newspapers and would eventually be hired by Walt Disney to be the first Tom Sawyer walk around character for Tom Sawyer’s Island.  Nabbe would spend several summers in this role, until he became too old to play the role.  He would then move into other jobs at Disneyland, eventually after a stint in the Marines, entering a management track.  His career would then take him to new and unexpected places which included relocating to Orlando and providing supervision in portions of the Magic Kingdom Park.  He would later move into distribution services managing warehouses that helped build Epcot, supply Walt Disney World, and support expansion under Michael Eisner, and even Disneyland Paris.  Along with his Disney history, Nabbe provides information about his personal and family life.  The book ends with an essay by Keith Murdock, the second Tom Sawyer who filled the role after Nabbe became too old.

I really liked From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend.  I flew through the book as I found Nabbe’s recollections interesting and in an easy to read tone.  I felt like I was listening to him tell stories about his time with Disney and even found his later accounts of warehouse work to be highly interesting.  I am thrilled this Disney Legend’s thoughts are captured for fans like me to enjoy.

Sometimes I find Nabbe’s Disneyland hard to imagine.  He goes into some depth on the fishing that occurred from the dock on Tom Sawyer Island.  In today’s legal minded society what I read was honestly hard to comprehend, but it happened.  I just cannot see any lawyer today allowing a company to let a teenage boy supervise adults and kids by himself on an attraction.  And I cannot comprehend that any lawyer would sign off on untrained guests swinging a line with a hook near other guests within the park.  And this does not even include the sanitation issues with fish in the Rivers of America dying due to the results of the catch and release program.  Yes, this is a different time and park then I have ever known.

Tom Nabbe was a company man.  He was hired by the man with his name on the door!  His story filled with love and dedication to his job and family both entertains and inspires.  Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend is sure to delight those who wish to remember the early days of Disneyland or the creation of Walt Disney World as they lazily sit by the river with their line dangling in the water.   

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press