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From the day it opened in July 1955, in an event given live TV coverage, Disneyland has been a key symbol of contemporary American culture. It has been both celebrated and attacked as the ultimate embodiment of consumer society, a harbinger of shopping-mall culture, a symbol of American hegemony in entertainment, the epitome of fantasy, simulation, pastiche, and the blurring of distinctions between reality and mass-media imagery. Yet for all the power of Disneyland as metaphor, almost no one has discussed the making of this unique place, with its far-flung colonies in Florida, Japan, and France. Written to accompany an exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance is the first book to look beyond the multiple myths of Disneyland. Uniting a roster of authors chosen from wide-ranging disciplines, this study is the first to examine the influence of Disneyland on both our built environment and our architectural imagination. Tracing the relationship of the Disney parks to their historical forbears, it charts Disneyland's evolution from one man's personal dream to a multinational enterprise, a process in which the Disney "magic" has moved ever closer to the real world. Editor Karal Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota, draws upon her pioneering work in the Disney archives to reconstruct and analyze the intentions and strategies behind the parks. She is joined by Marty Sklar, Vice Chairman and Principal Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, historian Neil Harris, art historian Erika Doss, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, critic Greil Marcus, and architect Frank Gehry to provide a unique perspective on one of the great post-war American icons.

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CHOICE Review

In this postmodern age, where Walt Disney provides so much grist to critics' mills, it was probably inevitable and necessary that a book be produced in his defense. While not an apology as such for the man and his creations, this volume takes Disney largely on his own terms, providing, especially in editor Karal Ann Marling's extended essay, new details about the evolution of his thinking. The comments of two Disney insiders round out the story. Lavishly illustrated by a host of artistic conceptions from the Disney archives, much of the book's writing is eloquent and insightful. Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan stretches credibility by linking Disney theme parks to the great landscape gardens of Europe, but art historian Neil Harris places such efforts nicely within the tradition of world's fairs. Each author is sympathetic to Disney, but cultural critic Grail Marcus makes overt the counter attack with a scathing review of Disney criticism. Marcus scores some good points. Still, for all the information the book provides, Disney is better documented than interpreted here. Although the book confirms Disney's importance to America's media-saturated culture in the late 20th century, it is more likely to provoke debate than to alter prevailing interpretation. General; faculty. H. Gillette Jr. George Washington University