Project Future by Chad Emerson

[mainegal]

I haven't read this yet, but it sounds like a good book.

Kevin was reading an advance reading copy a while ago. Any thoughts to share?

I found two interesting interviews with the author.

Season Pass podcast, April 4, 2010
WDW Today podcast, April 20, 2010

I'll bet Emerson would be happy to come on the Dis, or have an interview with Dave Parfitt.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I have read Project Future and found it to be one of the less interesting books regarding Walt Disney World.

If you are interested in the workings of local government, the creation of an improvement district or the management of a flood plain....this might be right up your alley.

I found this book to be loaded with minutia that held very little interest and it felt as I had wandered into a college course that I didnt need to take.

I have read extensively on the creation of Walt Disney World and the Disney Company and found many of the books to be fascinating.

Unfortunately, this wasnt one of them.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I read Project Future. It was a pretty dry read. I even skipped ahead in a few places and I almost never do that. I kept thinking it would get more interesting, but it never did. Like Kevin said lots of technical detail and alot of boring information about permits, city goverment, ect....it could have been about any large building project.

 

[jdtopgun71]

I have read Project Future and found it to be one of the less interesting books regarding Walt Disney World.

If you are interested in the workings of local government, the creation of an improvement district or the management of a flood plain....this might be right up your alley.

I found this book to be loaded with minutia that held very little interest and it felt as I had wandered into a college course that I didnt need to take.

I have read extensively on the creation of Walt Disney World and the Disney Company and found many of the books to be fascinating.

Unfortunately, this wasnt one of them.

I just got this book and am in agreement with Kevin that this is not terribly interesting. I haven't read the whole thing yet (it is a very small book and did not hold my interest long enough to finish) but I think the information could have been written into a better story than he tells here.

 

[mainegal]

Thanks for the reviews of the book.
I am thinking that I will be satisfied with what I heard from him in the interviews. Perhaps I have already heard all "the good stuff".

 

[Cyrano]

I have read Project Future and found it to be one of the less interesting books regarding Walt Disney World.

If you are interested in the workings of local government, the creation of an improvement district or the management of a flood plain....this might be right up your alley.

I found this book to be loaded with minutia that held very little interest and it felt as I had wandered into a college course that I didnt need to take.

I have read extensively on the creation of Walt Disney World and the Disney Company and found many of the books to be fascinating.

Unfortunately, this wasnt one of them.

I was hoping that this book might have given a useful insight to the creation of WDW. Shame that the subject matter is not presented in a better way

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

I'm sorry to hear about the book. The author is great in interviews. I've heard him about 6 times. He's now working on a book about how the major theme parks originally came together to make Orlando a tourist destination. That sounds like it could be interesting.

 

[Dodie]

I tried to read this, but came to the same conclusion as Kevin very early on.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Spinning Disney's World by Charles Ridgway. (I read this several years ago when it first came out.) This tells the story from a totally different perspective, but it was very entertaining and enlightening.

 

[corky441]

I tried to read this, but came to the same conclusion as Kevin very early on.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Spinning Disney's World by Charles Ridgway. (I read this several years ago when it first came out.) This tells the story from a totally different perspective, but it was very entertaining and enlightening.

I agree completely - I really loved "Spinning Disney's World" - he really had one heck of a job didn't he

 

[FireDancer]

If I'm not mistaken the book was written by an attorney who got the idea by researching improvement districts for a summary article. I am looking forward to the book but I like the minutia of the behind the scenes things that the book seems to cover.

In comparison to some of the technical articles and papers I read for work it will seem like a graphic novel.

I also want to read Spinning Disney and RealityLand. I have read DisneyWar twice and loved it.

 

[WaltD4Me]

If I'm not mistaken the book was written by an attorney who got the idea by researching improvement districts for a summary article. I am looking forward to the book but I like the minutia of the behind the scenes things that the book seems to cover.

In comparison to some of the technical articles and papers I read for work it will seem like a graphic novel.

I also want to read Spinning Disney and RealityLand. I have read DisneyWar twice and loved it.

Frank, if you liked Disney War, you should definitely check out "The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company."
http://www.amazon.com/Pixar-Touch-Vintage-David-Price/dp/0307278298/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Well written and I found it just as interesting as Disney War.

I am trying to get around to Realityland too.

 

[mainegal]

I'm sorry to hear about the book. The author is great in interviews. I've heard him about 6 times.

Exactly - he was great in the interviews!

He's now working on a book about how the major theme parks originally came together to make Orlando a tourist destination. That sounds like it could be interesting.

Yes, that sounds interesting to me, too.

 

[EastonCat]

I found this book to be loaded with minutia that held very little interest and it felt as I had wandered into a college course that I didnt need to take.

I have read extensively on the creation of Walt Disney World and the Disney Company and found many of the books to be fascinating.

Unfortunately, this wasnt one of them.

I'm about 1/3 of the way in to the book and am still trying to find the merits.

What's strange is that, while it deals in minutiae, it skims interesting details that would provide a story. If I were to pick another book from the genre that is similar, I'd go with "Married to the Mouse", which is a scholarly treatise on the public policy implications of the Disney-Orange/Osceola County marriages -- and is ten times more interesting. Make no mistake, I think "Married to the Mouse" is one of the most poorly written books I own - it's better than Project Future. It shares some interesting details, at the very least. It appears to be the primary source for the first third of "Project Future", so I guess the details had to be cut to reduce the claims of plagiarism.

 

[mainegal]

http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/

Mike Scopa's blog might give you most of what you want to now about the Project Future book.

 

[DisneyKevin]

http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/

Mike Scopa's blog might give you most of what you want to now about the Project Future book.

He's being very kind in his review.

Lyn, I think you should read it and tell us what you think.

You seem convinced by what you have heard and read, that the book might interesting, so why not spend the time and read the book?

Maybe you can convince us that it's more interesting than any of us originally thought.

 

[mainegal]

He's being very kind in his review.

Lyn, I think you should read it and tell us what you think.

You seem convinced by what you have heard and read, that the book might interesting, so why not spend the time and read the book?

Maybe you can convince us that it's more interesting than any of us originally thought.

You know that thread called "Kevin says...."
Well, I am listening to you and others that posted that as a book and believing that it just is not a captivating read.

What was interesting was the author in different interviews.

I shared Skopa's blog just as a way for people to get the information from the book without having to read the book. Not to encourage the reading of the book!

(I have to get back to ordering books for the library that I hope patrons will read!)

 

[Chad Emerson]

Hi everyone,

I'm in Orlando doing a book tour and was forwarded this thread. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond sooner.

I'm also sorry to hear that some of you did not enjoy the book. We put alot of effort into the research but sometimes things don't work with various readers.

As some background, the book did start as a law review article on improvement districts in general and the Reedy Creek Improvement District in particular.

Several readers of that academic article suggested extending the article into a book. After conducting an additional year or so of research, we made the move.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not John Gresham in the slightest. That said, the goal of Project Future is to provide a detailed, historical account of the unique legal, regulatory, political, and business events that led Disney to building Project Future/Disney World in Central Florida.

Granted, certain details can sometimes be dry but we wanted to make sure that we did not just repackage a book of anecdotes that already existed.

Almost all of the material in the book is from original interviews with individuals involved in the project as well as research from the National Archives, Florida State Archives, and other archived materials.

While I did cite to a few of Richard's interesting anecdotes, his book was not the source for any material beyond that which was cited. Much of the sourcing actually came from a series of depositions in the National Archives that key participants gave in a couple of federal lawsuits related to the project.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share some background on the book and my goals with it. The number one goal was to accurately share new information from original and reliable sources.

We may differ on the writing style or even the focus on certain events or details but if you are interested in the technical details about how and why Disney selected Central Florida instead of other places, I hope this adds to your knowledge.

If anyone has any questions, you are welcome to email me at chaddemerson at gmail dot com or call me at 334.201.5241.

I'll be at the Orlando Public Library Main Branch this Saturday at 2pm for a public presentation followed by one at 6pm for the local NFFC chapter.

I always enjoy the opportunity to visit with others about Project Future.

Thanks, Chad.

 

[corky441]

Thanks so much for filling us in on the book's background.