Description: The story of the dynamic, driven, and sometimes despised third wheel in the creation of America's iconic theme park
Brief description: Todd James Pierce is professor of literature at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. He is author of Newsworld, which won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize; Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of the Classic Film; The Life and Times of Ward Kimball: Maverick of Disney Animation; and Three Years in Wonderland: The Disney Brothers, C. V. Wood, and the Making of the Great American Theme Park, the latter two published by University Press of Mississippi. His work has appeared in over seventy magazines and journals. He has contributed to and appeared in documentaries focused on the history of the Disney Company, including those presented on ABC, PBS, BBC, the History Channel, and Hulu.
Review Quotes: Readers will get an inside look at the Disney brothers and their dubious yet immensely charismatic associate C. V. Wood, along with Disneyland's near-disastrous opening day in 1955. With the extensive appeal of the backstory of America's original theme park, this book will be equally engaging for those drawn to the origins of such destinations, mid-twentieth-century American workplace culture, California history, and all things Disney.-- "Library Journal"