Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs This one's general... name your favorite Disney coffee table book, you know the big ones that are usually $30+... Could it be The Disney Villain? The Art of Illusion? DLH: The Early Years? The Jason Surrell books?
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle I like the Disney Villains book. I love the subject matter, and I'm a big Frank and Ollie fan. I found it really interesting and basically read the whole thing (with some coffee table books I find myself looking at all the pictures but only reading certain bits). Another one I love and which quite inspires me is the Imagineer one (I can't think of the title though).
Originally Posted By hightp I like 'One Day at Disney', at least I think that's the title. It's mostly pictures with captions, and shows what was happening at the Disney parks around the world, at the same time. It would be after park close in Japan and the maintance crews were out, the middle of the day in Florida with everyone in full swing, and early morning in Calif, where they're getting ready to open the gates. I haven't gone through it in a while, so now I have to pull it out.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad My preference is: Designing Disney (Imagineering and the Art of the Show) by John Hench (with Peggy Van Pelt) It even has a forward by Martin A. Sklar ! (Marty)
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Oh I forgot to say why... It has hundreds of photos and lots and lots of commentary on HOW many attractions came to be and WHY they are the way they are. Also has lots of John Hench's sketches which I personally love.
Originally Posted By basil fan The Encyclopedia of Disney Animted Characters. There are parts I can read over a hundred times. Illusion of Life is another favorite. I wish I had a 'making of' book for every animated feature. Basil of Baker Street <a href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/basil/bakerst.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/ basil/bakerst.html</a>
Originally Posted By avromark The one that has not left my coffee table since it's been purchased is Walt Disney IMagineering A Behind The Dreams Look at Making The Magic Real. I love the photos, I love the writing, and I love any book that has Mickey and Walt sharing the cover
Originally Posted By utahjosh Ah, Disney hardcover books! I have over 40, it's become my main focus on collecting Disney. My favorites are: "The Art Of ___________" (any of the big animated features) "The Disney Treasures" All that cool stuff to play with! Walt Disney Imagineering Walt's Time -The sherman brother's book. (There is a picture of me in this book!)
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Ah, curses, I knew that that title was wrong! In my opening post, I meant to say 'The Illusion of Life', but I'm sure most of you knew what I was talking about. Being a Villain fanatic, my favorite is Frank-and-Ollie's book on the said characters. Before I had won it on eBay, I always thought that the book would be a profile book, done in the style of those Encyclopedia of Disney Characters written by... Joe Grant? Or was it Canemaker? I was wrong, however, how it focused on the art of Villainy and fleshed out all of Disney's evil characters. My dream book would be an updated Villain book, all written by Grant, Canemaker, Ollie, Frank and Dave Thomas. You'd have a reprint of F&O's book, along with memorable quotes, song lyrics, more concept art, profiles on the voice actors and possibly merchandise. I also have Walt Disney and the Nine Old Men, another Canemaker classic, suggested by a friend of mine. I admittedly still haven't finished it, along with the Art and Flair of Mary Blair book that I got for $8 at a book clearance store (the store also had a sealed Art of Hercules book for a very low price; in fact there's a used book store that has sealed copies of Pocahontas and Hunchback). What I like about these coffee books is that, in a way, still keeps Walt's dream alive (with art and anecdotes, not with direct-to-video sequels and pins), and that it shows that the company still cares about its older fans. They also feature the way Disney used to be: a lot of quality, but with very little quantity. The other coffee table books I have are Jason Surrell's books on the Mansion and Pirates. Whoo! I think I've found another niche in Disney besides the Villains, the temperamental duck and the clumsy dog-man: the making of the attractions. I've *considered* thinking about adding the Imagineering books, the Art of DL and the DLH book to my collection. That's another thing I have to admit: these books also have WORDS, but I spend more time looking at the PICTURES, rather than reading them, lol. I guess I'll have to rent that Frank and Ollie movie sometime.
Originally Posted By mapleservo My favourite is easily "the Nickel Tour" <a href="http://www.camphortree.com/nickeltour.html" target="_blank">http://www.camphortree.com/nic keltour.html</a> Just a beautiful book with tons of amazing images, lots of insider info, and tongue planted firmly in cheek. Great fun. It's also really easy just to pick up and flip through. It's a shame that it's not currently available, but hopefully it's only a matter of time.
Originally Posted By Hound I also love the "Nickel Tour". What a wonderful job Gordon and Mumford did! I highly recommend it.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I third "The Nickel Tour". I managed to find a copy and I just love it. I also agree on the "One Day at Disney", just for looking at the photos.
Originally Posted By schnebs "The Nickel Tour" is definitely a favorite of mine and so is "Walt Dinsey Imagineering", but my vote's going for "Disneyland: Inside Story" by Randy Bright. The reason? "Inside Story" was the first coffee table book that got me wanting to know about these people called Imagineers and the amazing things they do. You could also argue that if not for the interest in and success of "Inside Story", there might never have been a "Nickel Tour" or a "Walt Disney Imagineering".
Originally Posted By Rivkah86 Wow, all the books posted so far are amazing. I have most of them, and want the rest. My dream book would be a picture book of Yesterland (like the website, www.yesterland.com). All the old attractions, rides, shops and eateries... including in-depth descriptions of each, and maybe anecdotes from the imagineers that worked on them?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Rivkah, you're looking for The Nickel Tour. Best history of Disneyland out there by far.
Originally Posted By basil fan Josh, please tell us about your picture in Walt's Time. I wish I had it to check it out, but it's just so expensive!! Disney Glitch Index <a href="http://www.whatistsgalore.com/glitch/disneyglitch.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatistsgalore.com/ glitch/disneyglitch.html</a>
Originally Posted By themur Since the Nickel Tour has already been thrown out there (it is one of my favorites!) but I also like Disneylan Inside Story. Great photos!!
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I reallly need to find Disneyland the Inside Story. I've heard it's really good, but it's also really out of print!
Originally Posted By basil fan Alibris.com sells out of print books. It's worth a try. The Perfect Collectible <a href="http://www.whatistsgalore.com/disney/collectible.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatistsgalore.com/ disney/collectible.html</a>
