Three Years in Wonderland, Todd James Pierce
Three Years in Wonderland, Todd James Pierce
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Three Years in Wonderland
The Disney Brothers, C. V. Wood, and the Making of the Great American Theme Park

Author: Todd James Pierce

Narrator: Al Kessel

Unabridged: 9 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/09/2019


Synopsis

While the success of Disneyland is largely credited to Walt and Roy Disney, there was a third, mostly forgotten dynamo instrumental to the development of the park—fast-talking Texan C. V. Wood. Three Years in Wonderland presents the never-before-told, full story of "the happiest place on earth." Using information from over one hundred unpublished interviews, Todd James Pierce lays down the arc of Disneyland's development from an idea to a paragon of entertainment.

In compelling detail, Three Years in Wonderland lays out the struggles and rewards of building the world's first cinematic theme park and convincing the American public that a seventeen million dollar amusement park was the ideal place for a family vacation. The early experience of Walt Disney, Roy Disney, and C. V. Wood is one of the most captivating untold stories in the history of Hollywood. Pierce interviewed dozens of individuals who enjoyed long careers at the Walt Disney Company as well as dozens of individuals who—like C. V. Wood—helped develop the park but then left the company for good once the park was finished. Through much research and many interviews, Three Years in Wonderland offers readers a rare opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the men and women who built the best-known theme park in the world.

About Todd James Pierce

Todd James Pierce, Orcutt, California, is the author of three books, including Newsworld, which won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. His work has appeared in over seventy magazines and journals, including the Harvard Review and the North American Review. He is a professor of literature at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Josh

Damn good read.......more

Goodreads review by Wayne

'Three Years in Wonderland: The Disney Brothers, C. V. Wood, and the Making of the Great American Theme Park' by Todd James Pierce is a master work, and it achieves some things that aren't easy. The first thing it achieves is what I think is a fair viewpoint. I'm a Disney fan, and I've read a number......more

Goodreads review by Julie

This book does an excellent job of de-mythologizing the creation of Disneyland without coming off as jaded or cynical. You can tell it was thoroughly researched, and for a business history book, the storytelling/narrative was very engaging, if sometimes a little “flowery” in some places.......more

Goodreads review by Shawn

This is the single best book on the building of Disneyland that there has been published. taking nine years to research, over 150 interviews, this book goes into detail how Walt Disney brought the great American park to life. It also spells out the importance of C.V. Wood, one of the single greatest......more