DisneyWar

by James B. Stewart Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

Overview

The dramatic inside story of the downfall of Michael Eisner-Disney Chairman and CEO-and the scandals that drove America's best-known entertainment company to civil war.

“When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Whistle While You Work,” “The Happiest Place on Earth”-these are lyrics indelibly linked to Disney, one of the most admired and best-known companies in the world. So when Roy Disney, chairman of Walt Disney Animation and nephew of founder Walt Disney, abruptly resigned in November 2003 and declared war on chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner, he sent shock waves through the entertainment industry, corporate boardrooms, theme parks, and living rooms around the world-everywhere Disney does business and its products are cherished.

Drawing on unprecedented access to both Eisner and Roy Disney, current and former Disney executives and board members, as well as thousands of pages of never-before-seen letters, memos, transcripts, and other documents, James B. Stewart gets to the bottom of mysteries that have enveloped Disney for years: What really caused the rupture with studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, a man who once regarded Eisner as a father but who became his fiercest rival? How could Eisner have so misjudged Michael Ovitz, a man who was not only “the most powerful man in Hollywood” but also his friend, whom he appointed as Disney president and immediately wanted to fire? What caused the break between Eisner and Pixar chairman Steve Jobs, and why did Pixar abruptly abandon its partnership with Disney? Why did Eisner so mistrust Roy Disney that he assigned Disney company executives to spy on him? How did Eisner control the Disney board for so long, and what really happened in the fateful board meeting in September 2004, when Eisner played his last cards?

DisneyWar is an enthralling tale of one of America's most powerful media and entertainment companies, the people who control it, and those trying to overthrow them. It tells a story that-in its sudden twists, vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax-might itself have been the subject of a Disney classic-except that it's all true.

Editorial Reviews

bn.com

In one of the most talked-about business books of recent years, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist James B. Stewart offers a controversial and often unflattering look at the innermost workings of the Walt Disney Company. Uncovering a modern-day version of Richard III, this master storyteller presents the insider details of all the intrigues, betrayals, billionaire investments, and setups in Michael Eisner's kingdom.

Bob Woodward

DisneyWar is a compelling and often brilliant tale of how Eisner kept his own -- and everyone else's -- stress levels churning. To give Eisner the benefit of the doubt, his intent seems to have been to maintain an atmosphere of creativity while containing the roaring, toxic egos of the numerous barons of the magic kingdom. But in the end, it was Eisner's own ego that swamped and infected Disney.
— The Washington Post

Janet Maslin

The book describes an Eisner-dominated atmosphere of nonstop conflict and bickering, punctuated by the occasional stinker ("Pearl Harbor"), gold mine ("The Lion King") or missed opportunity ("The Sopranos"). It tells a messy, fractious story complete with its own Seven Dwarfs: Sneaky, Screamy, Pushy, Greedy, Grabby, Nasty and Snarky. Snow White is nowhere to be seen.
— The New York Times

Library Journal

Trust Stewart to find the Blood Sport in the toppling of Michael Eisner, once king of Disney's hill. A six-city tour. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Houston Chronicle

"[Stewart] weaves the creative, corporate, financial and personality streams of the Disney Co.'s fate into one astonishingly complete and gripping real-life drama."

The Washington Post Book World

"Compelling and often brilliant . . . A monumental achievement."

The New York Times

"A messy, fractious story complete with its own Seven Dwarfs: Sneaky, Screamy, Pushy, Greedy, Grabby, Nasty and Snarky. Snow White is nowhere to be seen."

Orlando Sentinel

"The fall of Michael Eisner, with its Shakespearean overtones, is a business history, a character study, and a record of how lives are lived at the peak of American business . . . in every way admirable and finely written."

Time

"A deliciously toxic [package] . . . a lust roll in greed and spite. In other words, a good old-fashioned Hollywood production."

USA Today

"Stewart's story speeds ahead as smoothly as a theme park ride, with a narrative more like a psychodrama than a business book . . . a smooth read."

Time

"A deliciously toxic [package] . . . a lust roll in greed and spite. In other words, a good old-fashioned Hollywood production."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170946815
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	964,626

Read an Excerpt

The fusion of chief executive Michael Eisner's identity with that of Disney— L'état, c'est moi—is hardly a rare phenomenon in either business or history. It has traditionally led to the downfall of nearly all absolute monarchies. A familiar tragic character in Shakespeare-Lear, Henry IV, Richard II, Macbeth, Richard III-is the ruler whose power is such that he bends the truth itself to suit his will. When Eisner himself sometimes referred to the ongoing drama around him as "Shakespearean," he might well have been describing Shakespeare's many explorations of this very theme, in which a monarch forgets his subjects and answers to the demands of his own ego.
—from DisneyWar

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