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DisneyWar
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 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.
620 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
825 people are currently reading
11795 people want to read
About the author
James B. Stewart
38 books331 followersJames Bennett Stewart is an American lawyer, journalist, and author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 757 reviews
June 9, 2013
This is the most jaw-dropping business book I've read. The author is invited inside the Disney organization to find out what makes it tick...and discovers it's a time bomb.
The opening is the Disney version we've always imagined, with the author experiencing a magical moment while working as a beloved Disney character at one of the Parks. He is then invited to record the inner workings of the Michael Eisner regime...almost at the exact moment when things start to go horribly wrong.
What was especially amazing to me is how the author stayed inside to record this. Disney has always been incredibly protective of its brand. Yet, unfolding in these pages is the break with Roy Disney, the court battle with Jeffrey Katzenberg, the war with Steve Jobs, the hiring and firing of Michael Ovitz, and the dethroning of Eisner himself. It is not unlike watching a spectacular train wreck.
The author keeps all of the players distinct and the narrative freely flowing. At many points, I kept wondering how he was allowed to stay. But, stay he did and the story is riveting.
There is almost a Shakespearian feel to Eisner's fall. He is obviously a man with tremendous business sense, and yet he was oblivious to the disaster forming all around him. This is truly a remarkable book.
The opening is the Disney version we've always imagined, with the author experiencing a magical moment while working as a beloved Disney character at one of the Parks. He is then invited to record the inner workings of the Michael Eisner regime...almost at the exact moment when things start to go horribly wrong.
What was especially amazing to me is how the author stayed inside to record this. Disney has always been incredibly protective of its brand. Yet, unfolding in these pages is the break with Roy Disney, the court battle with Jeffrey Katzenberg, the war with Steve Jobs, the hiring and firing of Michael Ovitz, and the dethroning of Eisner himself. It is not unlike watching a spectacular train wreck.
The author keeps all of the players distinct and the narrative freely flowing. At many points, I kept wondering how he was allowed to stay. But, stay he did and the story is riveting.
There is almost a Shakespearian feel to Eisner's fall. He is obviously a man with tremendous business sense, and yet he was oblivious to the disaster forming all around him. This is truly a remarkable book.
July 20, 2012
I listened to this on audiobook, so I'll discuss the content and the production separately.
Content:
Maybe it's because I'm a trained historian, but I found myself mumbling, sometimes shouting at my kindle: "according to who?" "says who?" "you can't know that was what happened!" There was just too much dramatization in this non-fiction book, too much certainty about people's thoughts, beliefs and conversations to which the author was not privy. I couldn't relax and trust it. Some dialogue is needed to break up non-fiction, sure, but that should be clear transcriptions of interviews about the incidents (preferably from more than one point of view), or recordings from the time. If the author is going to insist upon dramatizing conversations and phone calls (including stage directions!), it needs to made clear upon whose information the author is crafting his scenes - without such attribution, the reader can neither trust the information as truth, nor enjoy it as biased gossip.
I hate to say this (as someone who directed audio books for seven years) but I might have to get a print copy out of the library to see if it works better on the page than in audio - perhaps Stewart used footnotes to attribute/explain the liberties he took with dramatizations (though it should be in the main text.)
Audio production:
The production is not great. Every gap between sentences, paragraphs and even chapters has been viciously removed, often disturbing the flow of the narration and allowing no space for the reader to reflect and absorb. I, personally, found the Lawlor's accent and timbre a little strident for long listening, but that's subjective. What was disturbing was Lawlor's raging case of 'tag lag' - when a narrator allows the emotion of dialogue to continue into the tag so, " "Oh no!" she said." becomes " "Oh no," she said!" It's not a problem on occasion (though a good director aims not to let any slip through) but it's constant in this book (and probably made worse when the listener is pissed off by the dramatization anyway!)
All in all, I think this book probably suffered for being made into audio :(
Content:
Maybe it's because I'm a trained historian, but I found myself mumbling, sometimes shouting at my kindle: "according to who?" "says who?" "you can't know that was what happened!" There was just too much dramatization in this non-fiction book, too much certainty about people's thoughts, beliefs and conversations to which the author was not privy. I couldn't relax and trust it. Some dialogue is needed to break up non-fiction, sure, but that should be clear transcriptions of interviews about the incidents (preferably from more than one point of view), or recordings from the time. If the author is going to insist upon dramatizing conversations and phone calls (including stage directions!), it needs to made clear upon whose information the author is crafting his scenes - without such attribution, the reader can neither trust the information as truth, nor enjoy it as biased gossip.
I hate to say this (as someone who directed audio books for seven years) but I might have to get a print copy out of the library to see if it works better on the page than in audio - perhaps Stewart used footnotes to attribute/explain the liberties he took with dramatizations (though it should be in the main text.)
Audio production:
The production is not great. Every gap between sentences, paragraphs and even chapters has been viciously removed, often disturbing the flow of the narration and allowing no space for the reader to reflect and absorb. I, personally, found the Lawlor's accent and timbre a little strident for long listening, but that's subjective. What was disturbing was Lawlor's raging case of 'tag lag' - when a narrator allows the emotion of dialogue to continue into the tag so, " "Oh no!" she said." becomes " "Oh no," she said!" It's not a problem on occasion (though a good director aims not to let any slip through) but it's constant in this book (and probably made worse when the listener is pissed off by the dramatization anyway!)
All in all, I think this book probably suffered for being made into audio :(
April 29, 2025
Oh my my my. This book pretty much spanned my entire childhood into adulthood. The only thing it didn't include, surprisingly, was the acquisition of Marvel.
I'm in the middle of prepping for a move, so I thought this book would be a good audio book because it's so long and a topic I'm very familiar with - thought it would be easy to listen to while multitasking, and it worked out exactly as I thought it would. But it meant I couldn't take notes. I might want to reread it.
In the early aughts, I had a very intuitive way of selecting my stocks, and I had purchased Marvel stock based on the idea that everyone always needs a hero. I was so pissed when Disney acquired it, because to me, it was a company that completely embodied an incredibly misogynistic patriarchy (that's not redundant - you can have one without the other). I have to admit, though, that I'm glad I've held onto it.
I went to Disney for the first time last year, and it really lives up to the whole "Happiest Place on Earth" persona. So it's with wonder that I read through all the toxicity that has been pervasive under Eisner's reign of terror. By all measures, this company should've failed over and over again; it's stock should've tanked so much that it's worthless. And I remember reading every headline mentioned in the book. Still, there was no way for me to have understand the depth and breadth of Eisner's narcissism and tyranny. I just wanted to take his hand, lead him out of his office, look deep into his eyes, and remind him that he nearly died being a workaholic and that no job is that important or that he will never be so important that the world will fall apart without him.
I forgot to mention that Barry Diller is mentioned throughout the book. I was a consultant in NYC at one point in my life, and he was my client. He was (still is) married to
Diane von Fürstenberg. No one ever talked about his marriage, and so I'm kind of pissed that Stewart outs him in the book. Whether Diller is or is not gay is no one else's business but his. Please, never ever out someone - especially in today's times where it's still illegal (to the point of death penalty) in some countries, and especially in the US if they are trans, where it's dangerous to wake up to new executive orders restricting their lives are signed anew each day.
I'm in the middle of prepping for a move, so I thought this book would be a good audio book because it's so long and a topic I'm very familiar with - thought it would be easy to listen to while multitasking, and it worked out exactly as I thought it would. But it meant I couldn't take notes. I might want to reread it.
In the early aughts, I had a very intuitive way of selecting my stocks, and I had purchased Marvel stock based on the idea that everyone always needs a hero. I was so pissed when Disney acquired it, because to me, it was a company that completely embodied an incredibly misogynistic patriarchy (that's not redundant - you can have one without the other). I have to admit, though, that I'm glad I've held onto it.
I went to Disney for the first time last year, and it really lives up to the whole "Happiest Place on Earth" persona. So it's with wonder that I read through all the toxicity that has been pervasive under Eisner's reign of terror. By all measures, this company should've failed over and over again; it's stock should've tanked so much that it's worthless. And I remember reading every headline mentioned in the book. Still, there was no way for me to have understand the depth and breadth of Eisner's narcissism and tyranny. I just wanted to take his hand, lead him out of his office, look deep into his eyes, and remind him that he nearly died being a workaholic and that no job is that important or that he will never be so important that the world will fall apart without him.
I forgot to mention that Barry Diller is mentioned throughout the book. I was a consultant in NYC at one point in my life, and he was my client. He was (still is) married to
Diane von Fürstenberg. No one ever talked about his marriage, and so I'm kind of pissed that Stewart outs him in the book. Whether Diller is or is not gay is no one else's business but his. Please, never ever out someone - especially in today's times where it's still illegal (to the point of death penalty) in some countries, and especially in the US if they are trans, where it's dangerous to wake up to new executive orders restricting their lives are signed anew each day.
January 1, 2025
Best Audible credit I've ever spent. I was locked in. Sure it took me the better part of two months to get through, but that wasn't the fault of the book. I love a good corporate moment. Mr. Eisner... just wow.
While not connected technically I think that Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire and MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios are two books that sort of round out my personal Disney trilogy and the information in all three plays off of the ones from before and I have a deeper appreciation of each of these standalone books because I've read all of them.
While not connected technically I think that Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire and MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios are two books that sort of round out my personal Disney trilogy and the information in all three plays off of the ones from before and I have a deeper appreciation of each of these standalone books because I've read all of them.
November 7, 2020
I feel the need to explain why on earth I would read a 570 page book about Disney under the leadership of Michael Eisner. Disney itself has never held much attraction. When I was four or five I watched what my parents no doubt figured was an educational film about North American mountain cats. Suffice to say the dad dies first and the mother didn't have long either. Wherupon the cubs are relentlessly chased by human evil doers. I think at this stage I was in hysterics and cannot remember another thing about the movie except a deep sense of why would anyone do this to me. Life moves on, one forgives but never forgets. My daughter at age three through some process of atmospheric osmosis becomes very aware of Disney and the revulsion towards simpering princesses grows, but along that a grudging respect. One only has to watch the satanic imbecility of those pony fairies spawn of a focus groups decision to lump everything three year old girls like into one revolting gloop, to see that the quality is oh so much better. And honestly I know all the words to let it go.
So grudging respect for Disney aside why read the book? Well I needed to read something where I absolutely could not care less what the people in the book did or what happened to them. I had just read a book about a guy who gets part of his face blown off along with his limbs and spends the rest of his life in purgatory. I needed low stakes, I needed the mundane, I needed corporate politics in all their numbing detail and boy does this book deliver. I loved the hated internal corporate strategy team, the constant stream of corporate executives fired for threatening the ceo if only in his imagination, the stream of good and bad decisions by a man who was pretty decent with a number of flaws. Stuff that worked and stuff that did not. The fact that the worst thing that happened in this book is that someone gets fired and goes on to do something much more fun. Cannot recommend the therapeutic properties of this book more highly.
For those who say this review is light in content at least it is spoiler free, after all I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense of why survivor is on Cbs not abc for anyone.
Some people have kindly read this review which made me feel a little bad because of the snarkiness and a glaring omission. So to correct the glaring omission the author writes an excellent and enjoyable business book which turned what could have been very dull into a pleasant and informative read.
So grudging respect for Disney aside why read the book? Well I needed to read something where I absolutely could not care less what the people in the book did or what happened to them. I had just read a book about a guy who gets part of his face blown off along with his limbs and spends the rest of his life in purgatory. I needed low stakes, I needed the mundane, I needed corporate politics in all their numbing detail and boy does this book deliver. I loved the hated internal corporate strategy team, the constant stream of corporate executives fired for threatening the ceo if only in his imagination, the stream of good and bad decisions by a man who was pretty decent with a number of flaws. Stuff that worked and stuff that did not. The fact that the worst thing that happened in this book is that someone gets fired and goes on to do something much more fun. Cannot recommend the therapeutic properties of this book more highly.
For those who say this review is light in content at least it is spoiler free, after all I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense of why survivor is on Cbs not abc for anyone.
Some people have kindly read this review which made me feel a little bad because of the snarkiness and a glaring omission. So to correct the glaring omission the author writes an excellent and enjoyable business book which turned what could have been very dull into a pleasant and informative read.
Read
March 2, 2023more ceos should run their companies like high school cliques imo
July 4, 2011
I'm sure it comes as no surprise that even a quote family-friendly unquote company like Disney has a sordid underbelly. What mega-corporation these days doesn't (just a tip, if you enjoy Diet Coke, I wouldn't google their international business practices too hard; it's not pretty).
Disneywar isn't quite that kind of book -- we're not traveling into the sweatshops where orphans with bleeding fingers sew buttons on Mickey's overalls -- but it does air a lot of dirty laundry about the 20-year period in which Michael Eisner took the company from an also-ran in danger of being sold off to the mega-conglomerate we know and love, before his ever-growing ego and focus on the bottom line began to erode the brand and drive Disney animation into the dirt.
I found all of the details immensely entertaining. If you have a favorite Disney movie from that era, it is probably discussed here in detail, from Little Mermaid and The Lion King to massive pirate movie failures like Treasure Planet and pirate movie successes like those Johnny Depp flicks. The scope is impressive (note the page count -- I listened to the audiobook and it was something like 25 hours), covering boardroom coups, theme park development, merchandizing snafus, the battle for Pixar (Eisner's downfall!) and the rise, fall and rise of the ABC network [they hit big and then overexposed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and passed on a chance at Survivor (whoops!)].
Unfortunately a lot of it is probably a bit out of date by now -- I read it in 2006 when Eisner's walk of shame away from the board of directors (kicked out through the efforts of no less than Roy Disney himself) was still pretty fresh -- but if you like movie industry gossip, it's fascinating stuff.
Facebook 30 Day Book Challenge Day 26: Favorite non-fiction book.
Disneywar isn't quite that kind of book -- we're not traveling into the sweatshops where orphans with bleeding fingers sew buttons on Mickey's overalls -- but it does air a lot of dirty laundry about the 20-year period in which Michael Eisner took the company from an also-ran in danger of being sold off to the mega-conglomerate we know and love, before his ever-growing ego and focus on the bottom line began to erode the brand and drive Disney animation into the dirt.
I found all of the details immensely entertaining. If you have a favorite Disney movie from that era, it is probably discussed here in detail, from Little Mermaid and The Lion King to massive pirate movie failures like Treasure Planet and pirate movie successes like those Johnny Depp flicks. The scope is impressive (note the page count -- I listened to the audiobook and it was something like 25 hours), covering boardroom coups, theme park development, merchandizing snafus, the battle for Pixar (Eisner's downfall!) and the rise, fall and rise of the ABC network [they hit big and then overexposed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and passed on a chance at Survivor (whoops!)].
Unfortunately a lot of it is probably a bit out of date by now -- I read it in 2006 when Eisner's walk of shame away from the board of directors (kicked out through the efforts of no less than Roy Disney himself) was still pretty fresh -- but if you like movie industry gossip, it's fascinating stuff.
Facebook 30 Day Book Challenge Day 26: Favorite non-fiction book.
June 20, 2016
One of the best books on corporations, the interaction between personality and creativity, how structure affects success, and how Disney became the Disney we think of; when it starts in 1984, Disney was at a literal crossroads but the seeds of its doom had already been sewn...
...okay, too melodramatic but the book is incredibly good and the pacing is exciting as egos go out of control, and it's also full of fascinating insights to how so many of Disney's movies got made (and how many opportunities they missed).
...okay, too melodramatic but the book is incredibly good and the pacing is exciting as egos go out of control, and it's also full of fascinating insights to how so many of Disney's movies got made (and how many opportunities they missed).
August 13, 2019
Such gossip! This covers Disney company history between 1984-2005, including Eisner and Katzenberg's dynamics. It was just... okay. It mostly held my interest. But you could probably get the same highlights by reading Disney's Wikipedia page, and it would take you much less time.
When Stewart talks about the context of particular movies being made, it's rather fun. When he merely talks about "this person said that" and "this person tried to make that deal" or said such-and-such a thing in a conference room, it gets rather boring. Most all of the names mentioned passed me by and I won't remember them after walking away from the book. Reading this as an audiobook is the only way I got through it. I would have ditched it in print.
Lindsay Ellis's videos are good companion pieces to this book:
Beauty and the Beast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpUx9...
Revisionist World of Disney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dCW...
When Stewart talks about the context of particular movies being made, it's rather fun. When he merely talks about "this person said that" and "this person tried to make that deal" or said such-and-such a thing in a conference room, it gets rather boring. Most all of the names mentioned passed me by and I won't remember them after walking away from the book. Reading this as an audiobook is the only way I got through it. I would have ditched it in print.
Lindsay Ellis's videos are good companion pieces to this book:
Beauty and the Beast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpUx9...
Revisionist World of Disney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dCW...
June 15, 2022
This book was fascinating and difficult to put down, so as far as I'm concerned it did its job.
Disjointed thoughts:
- While reading, I wasn't completely sure what Stewart's thesis was. The book was entertaining, but seemed more like a history of Disney in the mid-80s to mid-2000s than the story of Eisner's downfall. There was a part of me that felt like maybe the thesis was just so obvious that Stewart didn't bother to explicitly state it - that Eisner's downfall and Disney's struggles in the late-90s to the mid-2000s was because of Eisner's personality. Then I read the conclusion, and was surprised it wasn't the introduction: the conclusion is really the thesis, and I was surprised it wasn't used as a framing device.
- Similarly, I don't know how appropriate the title is. Neither of the two DisneyWars launched by Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold are given a ton of focus.
- While this book is highly critical of Eisner, it still attempts to present all the major figures in this saga as more than just "good" or "bad", to varying levels of success. I think the portrayal of Jeffrey Katzenberg is the most successful in this regard: he has several unflattering moments, but it's hard not to feel sympathetic towards him, and there are scenes where he comes off favourably. Similarly, while Frank Wells is generally affable and likeable, there are instances where Stewart points out his questionable business choices. Bob Iger oscillates between Eisner's accomplice and victim. As for Eisner himself, Stewart does his best to let Eisner's behaviour speak for itself, and does give him a few sympathetic moments, but they are few and far between.
- I was shocked that this book did not talk more about EuroDisney. The main point of this book is arguably that Frank Wells' death in 1994 was only partially responsible for Disney's decline and Eisner's eventual ouster. EuroDisney is one of the biggest pieces of evidence for this point, as it demonstrated the fact that Wells was not always able to reign Eisner in.
- This book has three parts: the first being Eisner's arrival at Disney and the Katzenberg years, the second the acquisition of ABC and the Ovitz era, and the third (the shortest) being Roy and Stanley's 2004 Save Disney campaign. While the second and third parts are still engaging and interesting, they definitely pale in comparison to the first third of the book, which was an absolute ride. Resultantly, the later parts of the book can feel sluggish at times, though it's hard to fault Stewart's for this as he needed to discuss ABC/Ovitz, and nothing could top the theatrics and ridiculousness of the Katzenberg fiasco.
Overall: If the subject matter piques your interest, I'd say give it a try.
Disjointed thoughts:
- While reading, I wasn't completely sure what Stewart's thesis was. The book was entertaining, but seemed more like a history of Disney in the mid-80s to mid-2000s than the story of Eisner's downfall. There was a part of me that felt like maybe the thesis was just so obvious that Stewart didn't bother to explicitly state it - that Eisner's downfall and Disney's struggles in the late-90s to the mid-2000s was because of Eisner's personality. Then I read the conclusion, and was surprised it wasn't the introduction: the conclusion is really the thesis, and I was surprised it wasn't used as a framing device.
- Similarly, I don't know how appropriate the title is. Neither of the two DisneyWars launched by Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold are given a ton of focus.
- While this book is highly critical of Eisner, it still attempts to present all the major figures in this saga as more than just "good" or "bad", to varying levels of success. I think the portrayal of Jeffrey Katzenberg is the most successful in this regard: he has several unflattering moments, but it's hard not to feel sympathetic towards him, and there are scenes where he comes off favourably. Similarly, while Frank Wells is generally affable and likeable, there are instances where Stewart points out his questionable business choices. Bob Iger oscillates between Eisner's accomplice and victim. As for Eisner himself, Stewart does his best to let Eisner's behaviour speak for itself, and does give him a few sympathetic moments, but they are few and far between.
- I was shocked that this book did not talk more about EuroDisney. The main point of this book is arguably that Frank Wells' death in 1994 was only partially responsible for Disney's decline and Eisner's eventual ouster. EuroDisney is one of the biggest pieces of evidence for this point, as it demonstrated the fact that Wells was not always able to reign Eisner in.
- This book has three parts: the first being Eisner's arrival at Disney and the Katzenberg years, the second the acquisition of ABC and the Ovitz era, and the third (the shortest) being Roy and Stanley's 2004 Save Disney campaign. While the second and third parts are still engaging and interesting, they definitely pale in comparison to the first third of the book, which was an absolute ride. Resultantly, the later parts of the book can feel sluggish at times, though it's hard to fault Stewart's for this as he needed to discuss ABC/Ovitz, and nothing could top the theatrics and ridiculousness of the Katzenberg fiasco.
Overall: If the subject matter piques your interest, I'd say give it a try.
August 28, 2020
I feel like I’ve just scaled Mount Everest!
May 7, 2020
Would I recommend this one? Only if you are extremely interested in this era of Disney history or the politics of an enormous corporation. Otherwise, you can find the gist of the story elsewhere. This book is incredibly dense – it took me over a week to get through because there are so many people doing so many things and eventually there are so many components of the company that it all becomes too much to track. But it is also all very interesting to a certain set of people – me. The book has weaknesses, an over reliance on the reader’s memory of the literally hundreds of people involved, some sloppy copyediting that allowed references to the wrong year or occasionally the wrong person to sneak through. Also, it was published in 2005 when Miramax belonged under the Disney corporate umbrella and the Weinstein brothers were still employed there, so it was very jarring to see Harvey Weinstein presented in a mostly positive light given what we know now about his personal behavior in those years.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
April 7, 2023
Powerful men in the 1980s were monsters but I’ll be damned if they didn’t make for incredibly entertaining drama.
June 19, 2013
Disney War is encyclopedic in its scope and coverage of the Michael Eisner-era Walt Disney Company. It begins by providing a good background into the situation that brought Eisner to Disney from both his own career leading up to his hiring and the leadership and creative vacuum left after Walt Disney's death.
It then details the rise and fall of Eisner with every machination with a complete cast of partners, associates, and subordinates. What the reader is treated to is a wonderfully entertaining and riveting inside history of the Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2004. The author also frames the larger situation by drawing parallels to a Machiavellian or Shakespearean plotline where the Disney management’s hubris is met with as dramatic a fall as its rise.
It also takes great pains to provide a very balanced approach. Often, it provides two or more sides to the most contentious moments in the company's history. Almost every major player in the company and industry at the time is included (often first person via interview).
It then details the rise and fall of Eisner with every machination with a complete cast of partners, associates, and subordinates. What the reader is treated to is a wonderfully entertaining and riveting inside history of the Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2004. The author also frames the larger situation by drawing parallels to a Machiavellian or Shakespearean plotline where the Disney management’s hubris is met with as dramatic a fall as its rise.
It also takes great pains to provide a very balanced approach. Often, it provides two or more sides to the most contentious moments in the company's history. Almost every major player in the company and industry at the time is included (often first person via interview).
August 11, 2021
Very dense. I guess I thought it would be more about the background to the films made around this time and whilst there were certainly a few interesting anecdotes, it was mainly about the personality clashes inside the company. I guess I learned more than I wanted to about how large public corporations operate.
February 23, 2021
What a fascinating book.
I couldn't have read this when I was just getting into Disney. In 2007, all I cared about was The Magic, and nothing was going to come between me and it. I was aware of this book but I steered clear of it, relying on rapturous Disney histories and blogs and, eventually, DisTwitter. OK, so it wasn't all rapturous.
DisneyWar charts Michael Eisner's tenure as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. From the early days, when Roy Disney staged a near-coup to get Eisner on board, to the waning final days, when Roy did it again to strip Eisner of his power, Eisner's tenure was tumultuous. I've talked about Eisner's time at Disney plenty on both social media and in my podcast, The Thirty20Eight. But although I knew some of his highlights and lowlights, I knew nothing of the corporate intrigue, the paranoia, and the increasingly insular nature of the company and the man.
I don't know how much of the book highlights the latter-era missed chances because it deals with successes we know about, or because they were just so egregious. How Disney gave up a bunch of the profits for The Sixth Sense, because Eisner didn't think it would do well. How he excoriated Finding Nemo as "Pixar will finally have a wake-up call" as to how their golden reign would end. How Eisner passed on CSI and Survivor, which became massive hits elsewhere. Is it all "hindsight is 20/20" or were Eisner's sins just that profound?
It's actually kind of tragic after Eisner spearheaded the first Disney Renaissance, starting somewhere around The Great Mouse Detective and ending somewhere around Tarzan. What's most interesting is how Eisner kind of keeps trying to believe he's in Disney's salad days, long - LONG - past the time he is.
My only issue with the book is that we didn't really get a lot of theme park stuff. I honestly thought we'd get a big breakdown of WestCot and an in-depth look at California Adventure's bizarre first years. Nothing much on that, or on the changes Eisner brought to the resort hotel concept (adding value resorts), theme park attractions (beyond Mission: Space), and more. There's a lot of ink on Disneyland Paris, but virtually nothing on the Asian parks, or even domestic.
It's a ding for me but I get it. This book is more about boardroom malfeasance and mergers and acquisitions and big-screen entertainment rather than Splash Mountain and Barbie at Epcot. Still, even for someone who doesn't really care about corporate movers, shakers, and losers, I found author James B. Stewart's prose moving quickly and the huge moments and shocking reversals so outsized, this could have been fiction. The weirdest thing is that it's not. I really liked this book.
I couldn't have read this when I was just getting into Disney. In 2007, all I cared about was The Magic, and nothing was going to come between me and it. I was aware of this book but I steered clear of it, relying on rapturous Disney histories and blogs and, eventually, DisTwitter. OK, so it wasn't all rapturous.
DisneyWar charts Michael Eisner's tenure as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. From the early days, when Roy Disney staged a near-coup to get Eisner on board, to the waning final days, when Roy did it again to strip Eisner of his power, Eisner's tenure was tumultuous. I've talked about Eisner's time at Disney plenty on both social media and in my podcast, The Thirty20Eight. But although I knew some of his highlights and lowlights, I knew nothing of the corporate intrigue, the paranoia, and the increasingly insular nature of the company and the man.
I don't know how much of the book highlights the latter-era missed chances because it deals with successes we know about, or because they were just so egregious. How Disney gave up a bunch of the profits for The Sixth Sense, because Eisner didn't think it would do well. How he excoriated Finding Nemo as "Pixar will finally have a wake-up call" as to how their golden reign would end. How Eisner passed on CSI and Survivor, which became massive hits elsewhere. Is it all "hindsight is 20/20" or were Eisner's sins just that profound?
It's actually kind of tragic after Eisner spearheaded the first Disney Renaissance, starting somewhere around The Great Mouse Detective and ending somewhere around Tarzan. What's most interesting is how Eisner kind of keeps trying to believe he's in Disney's salad days, long - LONG - past the time he is.
My only issue with the book is that we didn't really get a lot of theme park stuff. I honestly thought we'd get a big breakdown of WestCot and an in-depth look at California Adventure's bizarre first years. Nothing much on that, or on the changes Eisner brought to the resort hotel concept (adding value resorts), theme park attractions (beyond Mission: Space), and more. There's a lot of ink on Disneyland Paris, but virtually nothing on the Asian parks, or even domestic.
It's a ding for me but I get it. This book is more about boardroom malfeasance and mergers and acquisitions and big-screen entertainment rather than Splash Mountain and Barbie at Epcot. Still, even for someone who doesn't really care about corporate movers, shakers, and losers, I found author James B. Stewart's prose moving quickly and the huge moments and shocking reversals so outsized, this could have been fiction. The weirdest thing is that it's not. I really liked this book.
October 29, 2025
Sure, like many people have been saying for 20 years, DisneyWar is a book of staggering access, written like a grand thriller, providing a perspective on the erosion of corporate America through the actions of one man who wanted to hold onto power too much…but MAN, the secret sauce of DisneyWar is the image of Michael Eisner reading this, face flush with rage and cartoon smoke coming out of his ears.
James B. Stewart’s empathetic portrait of the bastard as an old man puts us into the minds of a human tornado, ravaging every opportunity and associate in the never ending search of being placed in the pantheon, the downfall tragic were that it not so funny, cruel were that it not so well-deserved.
A book to inhale whole, guided to the inevitable by a writer willing to poke the idea that “you need a jerk to run a business” with no stronger stick than the natural fallout of those jerks’ actions, described honestly. As it turns out, that’s a plenty strong enough stick.
James B. Stewart’s empathetic portrait of the bastard as an old man puts us into the minds of a human tornado, ravaging every opportunity and associate in the never ending search of being placed in the pantheon, the downfall tragic were that it not so funny, cruel were that it not so well-deserved.
A book to inhale whole, guided to the inevitable by a writer willing to poke the idea that “you need a jerk to run a business” with no stronger stick than the natural fallout of those jerks’ actions, described honestly. As it turns out, that’s a plenty strong enough stick.
July 22, 2023
Wew what a ride.
Being a pre-designated Disney fan from before the time I was born by the nature of my parents, I’ve long since come to terms with my love for the creative force of the company’s century long history in the face of its corporate gluttony and litigiousness (thanks for that new word, James). Due to incredible documentarians like Kevin Perjurer from Defunctland, I have long known that the Father of the Disney Renaissance was more misguided than not.
What I was not prepared for was the procession of backstabbing, gaslighting and emotional abuse that any Disney villain would surely take pause at.
Michael Eisner was the villain of his story, and his ability to hold the world’s most identifiable entertainment company hostage for twenty years by the seat of his emotional pants is a failure of capitalism and, perhaps even moreso, a failure of morality. James’ book offers a deep dive into the inner complexities of the American CEO and highlights how so many people are subject to their toxically underdeveloped emotional maturity—even those outside of the company.
I recommend to any Disney fan, and I consider it a must-read for anyone gulping the Disney Kool-Aid—looking at you, Disney Adults.
Being a pre-designated Disney fan from before the time I was born by the nature of my parents, I’ve long since come to terms with my love for the creative force of the company’s century long history in the face of its corporate gluttony and litigiousness (thanks for that new word, James). Due to incredible documentarians like Kevin Perjurer from Defunctland, I have long known that the Father of the Disney Renaissance was more misguided than not.
What I was not prepared for was the procession of backstabbing, gaslighting and emotional abuse that any Disney villain would surely take pause at.
Michael Eisner was the villain of his story, and his ability to hold the world’s most identifiable entertainment company hostage for twenty years by the seat of his emotional pants is a failure of capitalism and, perhaps even moreso, a failure of morality. James’ book offers a deep dive into the inner complexities of the American CEO and highlights how so many people are subject to their toxically underdeveloped emotional maturity—even those outside of the company.
I recommend to any Disney fan, and I consider it a must-read for anyone gulping the Disney Kool-Aid—looking at you, Disney Adults.
January 17, 2025
Binge reading a 500+ page book about Michael Eisner’s tenure as CEO of Disney wasn’t how I expected to kick off my reading for 2025, but here we are! An egomaniacal CEO, backstabbing executives, and corporate malfeasance filled a Succession-shaped hole in my life. Loved this book!
May 26, 2020
Outstanding. A must-read for anyone who’s even remotely interested in the Walt Disney Company and what went on behind the scenes during the 20-year reign of Michael Eisner as Chairman and CEO of the company.
October 1, 2016
Wow! More internal drama then you could possibly imagine!
What a great book. I had no idea how much went on behind the scenes during Michael Eisner's 20 year reign over The Walt Disney Company.
It chronicles in depth the movement driving his first joining of the company in 1984 (ironically by two board members who fought tenaciously for his ouster 20 years later!), the rise of Disney's 1990s animation renaissance with Jeffrey Katzenberg (think Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) and later viciously spiteful fall out, the bizarre and costly one year Michael Ovitz debacle, manipulation, coercion, and exploitation of a spineless Board that would never be tolerated in today's climate, expansion of the parks and the addition of the budget-busting EuroDisney, the death of Frank Wells (which many claim marked the end for Eisner), as well as the acquisition of ABC and the $5B struggle to make the purchase of ABC Family appear like a success. The book culminates in the hugely contentious battle behind the scenes and in the public eye, putting former Board members -- including Roy Disney himself -- against Eisnet (completely reversing his efforts two decades previously to put him in power).
This book really makes you wonder what the company is really like today under Bob Iger. While some creative tension is good and can yield strong results, the story behind the massive expansion of this company, its content, global merchandising, expansive theme parks, and he shocking tales of pure financial and power-mad hubris makes you really wonder if he ends chili justify the means.
This is the first book I've read in a long time where despite the huge length, I really didn't want it to end. In fact, the author should consider releasing an updated version with a new afterward highlighting what went on in the last 10 years since the end of the book (something I'd definitely come back to read)!
What a great book. I had no idea how much went on behind the scenes during Michael Eisner's 20 year reign over The Walt Disney Company.
It chronicles in depth the movement driving his first joining of the company in 1984 (ironically by two board members who fought tenaciously for his ouster 20 years later!), the rise of Disney's 1990s animation renaissance with Jeffrey Katzenberg (think Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) and later viciously spiteful fall out, the bizarre and costly one year Michael Ovitz debacle, manipulation, coercion, and exploitation of a spineless Board that would never be tolerated in today's climate, expansion of the parks and the addition of the budget-busting EuroDisney, the death of Frank Wells (which many claim marked the end for Eisner), as well as the acquisition of ABC and the $5B struggle to make the purchase of ABC Family appear like a success. The book culminates in the hugely contentious battle behind the scenes and in the public eye, putting former Board members -- including Roy Disney himself -- against Eisnet (completely reversing his efforts two decades previously to put him in power).
This book really makes you wonder what the company is really like today under Bob Iger. While some creative tension is good and can yield strong results, the story behind the massive expansion of this company, its content, global merchandising, expansive theme parks, and he shocking tales of pure financial and power-mad hubris makes you really wonder if he ends chili justify the means.
This is the first book I've read in a long time where despite the huge length, I really didn't want it to end. In fact, the author should consider releasing an updated version with a new afterward highlighting what went on in the last 10 years since the end of the book (something I'd definitely come back to read)!
May 18, 2008
Stewart takes a fascinating in-depth look at the structure and politics of the Walt Disney Company, focusing on the years Michael Eisner was in power. Reporting in a straight "these-are-the-facts" manner, you still get a breathtakingly dramatic portrait of Eisner: His creative, younger years of success, partnered with talented people, and his gradual loss of his sense of reality as he begins to see himself as the omnipotent king of the Disney empire, and the natural heir of Walt Disney himself.
People who have grown up seeing Disney movies, going to the theme parks and, for the last 15 years at least, hearing a parent blame Eisner for all that is wrong with Disney, this offers a more nuanced (but in the end, not much less incriminating) picture. (I'm not sure how many people did grow up like that, but that's what made the book cool for me.)
For Disney fans who have just been dismayed at the declining quality and loss of creativity and attention to detail in Disney products, this is still a captivating behind-the-scenes look at the politicking behind Disney movies, Broadway productions, television moves, and theme parks.
And for those not particularly interested in Disney at all, it still reads almost as a fast-packed corporate thriller through the attempted takeover by Comcast, the near collapse of the Disney/Pixar partnership, Roy Disney and Stanley Gold's resignation and "Save Disney" campaign, and Eiser's eventual overthrow. Stewart's comparison of Eisner to the doomed, egomaniac kings (which comes only at the very end) is brilliant.
People who have grown up seeing Disney movies, going to the theme parks and, for the last 15 years at least, hearing a parent blame Eisner for all that is wrong with Disney, this offers a more nuanced (but in the end, not much less incriminating) picture. (I'm not sure how many people did grow up like that, but that's what made the book cool for me.)
For Disney fans who have just been dismayed at the declining quality and loss of creativity and attention to detail in Disney products, this is still a captivating behind-the-scenes look at the politicking behind Disney movies, Broadway productions, television moves, and theme parks.
And for those not particularly interested in Disney at all, it still reads almost as a fast-packed corporate thriller through the attempted takeover by Comcast, the near collapse of the Disney/Pixar partnership, Roy Disney and Stanley Gold's resignation and "Save Disney" campaign, and Eiser's eventual overthrow. Stewart's comparison of Eisner to the doomed, egomaniac kings (which comes only at the very end) is brilliant.
January 30, 2011
I initially chose this book because I am fascinated with all things Disney-namely the history of animation and its business wheelings and dealings. I was hoping to get an insider look at how the decisions to many of the elements of my childhood came about, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm going to be honest and say that I picked up the audio book to listen on my commutes to and from work, so I didn't technically read the book myself. Having said that, I think that had I not been on those long rides listening to the narrator I doubt I'd have gotten past the first few pages because it can be extremely tedious at times. The initial half about Eisner's rise to the top of Disney was very much engaging, and I was excited to get through it. Once it hit the halfway mark however, (that is, once David Katzenberg left), I quickly realized a once interesting book was becoming dull and unappealing. Towards the end of the first half the book went into Eisner and Katzenberg's falling out, which sounded more like a middle school feud in the bathroom; it had drama and gossip, and then it just became excessive. The pace really slowed down and unfortunately, instead of ending with a bang, was a dud.
August 14, 2019
A tale of the obnoxious dregs of upper management at Disney from the 1980s on, their annual bonuses and spats. This is before the Harvey Weinstein scandal, but he makes an appearance as a respected peer which tells you a lot about the kind of people they are. They are also given surprising creative credit, Jeffrey Katzenberg is said to have come up with the idea for Lion King for example, which does not gel with other accounts, to put it politely. Though it does have an account of him butchering The Black Cauldron, which matches what the creative side have described. It does seem amazing that in such an atmosphere anything creative can be produced at all, though this is an era that saw a series of great films.
In the end the endless politicking, backbiting, deals on golf courses and private jets, ridiculous salaries and bickering over money, and the fact that anything Disney - the cartoons, the theme park rides - are mentioned only in passing as an afterthought, left me increasingly nauseous. Although we're led to believe Walt himself was no prize of a human being, it does make me curious to go back and see how he started it all.
In the end the endless politicking, backbiting, deals on golf courses and private jets, ridiculous salaries and bickering over money, and the fact that anything Disney - the cartoons, the theme park rides - are mentioned only in passing as an afterthought, left me increasingly nauseous. Although we're led to believe Walt himself was no prize of a human being, it does make me curious to go back and see how he started it all.
September 16, 2022
I had to read this for school... very long and very dense... but honestly learned a lot about the Disney company, so that was interesting?! Also Michael Eisner (former CEO and chairman) is a lil psycho?
November 21, 2020
A look into Michael Eisner’s 20 year tenure with Disney. I wasn’t expecting to be so engrossed in this story. But with all of the information that the author had at his disposal, he was able to really go into how one of the biggest businesses in the world works. It’s amazing how many wild things happened with Disney in those 20 years that Eisner was in charge.
Being a fan of the book Console Wars by Blake J. Harris, I found some similarities with that story in that they both start with a newcomer to a company show a rise and fall and how that person eventually leaves in the end.
If you want a look into one of the biggest companies on the planet and how much of a gong show that place was at times, check this one out!
Being a fan of the book Console Wars by Blake J. Harris, I found some similarities with that story in that they both start with a newcomer to a company show a rise and fall and how that person eventually leaves in the end.
If you want a look into one of the biggest companies on the planet and how much of a gong show that place was at times, check this one out!
Read
August 24, 2024hours and hours into this audiobook, i found myself once again ranting to bailey about michael eisner as we were trying to fall asleep. when i finished my rant i complained about how stressed i felt to which bailey said the funniest possible thing:
“don’t worry. michael eisner isn’t real. you’re safe”
“don’t worry. michael eisner isn’t real. you’re safe”
April 16, 2020
This book is about the inner workings of Disney under the leadership of Micheal Eisner. This is by no means an easy read, but if you have any vested interest in Disney as a company or how choices were made for certain films and t.v. channels, than this is a pretty interesting read.
May 4, 2024
If ever there existed a comprehensive rebuttal of the "run government like a business" mentality, this is it. Michael Eisner (Chairman and CEO of Disney from 1984-2005) ran Disney like an autocratic fief. He brooked no dissent and hired and fired executives until he built a custom board of Eisner sycophants. Autocracy, like that which many corporations endure, is certainly efficient. (From 1995-2005, Disney was brutally efficient: efficiently bad.) But it is not accountable. The relationship between accountability and creativity is essential, especially to a creative company like Disney. Corporations are not governments, so there are different accountability requirements. But the lack of accountability and criticism inside Disney toward the end of Eisner's reign was inarguably disastrous. Stewart's "DisneyWar" pulls back the curtain on a notoriously private enterprise.
"DisneyWar" is as important as it is interesting. Stewart wrote it in a narrative style, so it pulls the reader along with a busy current of stories. Because Eisner and Disney were virtually inseparable for so many years, this book sometimes feels like a biography of Disney's erstwhile CEO. But there is so much more to glean from these pages than that. This book tells us the Tragedy of Eisner so that we can avoid his example.
Like any tragedy, Eisner entered the story as a hero. He saved Disney from ignominy and raised the company's image--and profits (in 1984, Disney made ~$100m; in 2005, Disney made ~$4b). But after more than a decade at the helm, Eisner's leadership was worse than stale: it was rotting. The morale at Disney was at an all-time low and the company wallowed in a culture of lying, backstabbing, and spying. According to Stewart, the cause was singular: Michael Eisner had lost his way.
If you're interested in the Walt Disney Company, business, leadership, or just want a riveting real-world Succession, I present to you the smorgasbord of schadenfreude known as "DisneyWar."
"DisneyWar" is as important as it is interesting. Stewart wrote it in a narrative style, so it pulls the reader along with a busy current of stories. Because Eisner and Disney were virtually inseparable for so many years, this book sometimes feels like a biography of Disney's erstwhile CEO. But there is so much more to glean from these pages than that. This book tells us the Tragedy of Eisner so that we can avoid his example.
Like any tragedy, Eisner entered the story as a hero. He saved Disney from ignominy and raised the company's image--and profits (in 1984, Disney made ~$100m; in 2005, Disney made ~$4b). But after more than a decade at the helm, Eisner's leadership was worse than stale: it was rotting. The morale at Disney was at an all-time low and the company wallowed in a culture of lying, backstabbing, and spying. According to Stewart, the cause was singular: Michael Eisner had lost his way.
If you're interested in the Walt Disney Company, business, leadership, or just want a riveting real-world Succession, I present to you the smorgasbord of schadenfreude known as "DisneyWar."
January 12, 2026
Disney War is a work I've seen cited a lot by various YouTubers and podcasters such as Lindsay Ellis, Defunctland, and What Went Wrong. I'm not a Disney adult by any means, but I do find them interesting to look at from a cultural and behind-the-scenes standpoint.
Despite how much I've watched and listened to about the company, there was still plenty of new information and context in this book. As a journalistic work, it is extremely comprehensive, diving into corporate management, the creation of films and shows, the parks, and personal drama. No matter how petty you think business executives are, they are infinitely worse. Turns out Succession was actually pretty realistic.
The writing is engaging and concise, though I felt the organization was a little off, making the pace lag. The first half is also the more interesting than the second as we see the building blocks and beginning of the Disney Renaissance and the conflict between Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg while. Meanwhile latter half is a lot of inside baseball business issues where Eisner has reached the peak of his greed. This isn't a criticism of the writing though given that's the information the author had. There were also way too many grammatical issues in my copy.
Your enjoyment of Disney War would depend on how interested in Disney you are. If you're a fan who can handle criticism or just endlessly curious about it like me, you'll have a blast! It's nearly six hundred pages explaining the rise and fall of the Disney Renaissance that contextualizes an integral era of pop culture history.
Despite how much I've watched and listened to about the company, there was still plenty of new information and context in this book. As a journalistic work, it is extremely comprehensive, diving into corporate management, the creation of films and shows, the parks, and personal drama. No matter how petty you think business executives are, they are infinitely worse. Turns out Succession was actually pretty realistic.
The writing is engaging and concise, though I felt the organization was a little off, making the pace lag. The first half is also the more interesting than the second as we see the building blocks and beginning of the Disney Renaissance and the conflict between Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg while. Meanwhile latter half is a lot of inside baseball business issues where Eisner has reached the peak of his greed. This isn't a criticism of the writing though given that's the information the author had. There were also way too many grammatical issues in my copy.
Your enjoyment of Disney War would depend on how interested in Disney you are. If you're a fan who can handle criticism or just endlessly curious about it like me, you'll have a blast! It's nearly six hundred pages explaining the rise and fall of the Disney Renaissance that contextualizes an integral era of pop culture history.
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