Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainmentempire

What an interesting read! I had never heard of 'Roy O Disney', and perhaps that's the way he wanted it. Great insight into the man behind the man at one of the most well-known and well-loved companies in the world. This book will help you understand the difference between visionary leadership and organizational leadership. One without the other is all but irrelevant! Plus some interesting theories on money and risk-taking. Current self-absorbed (and overpaid) CEO's should read this book and take notes. Any comments Mr. Eisner?

Finally someone who wrote about equally important, 2nd pilar of The Walt Disney Company. Its cofounder is greatly described in this book. It has many comparisons with his more famous brother Walt, but Roy's business affairs genious was equally important for the company, as Walt's creative genious. This book is a must read!!

This is the first book that I read on the Disney's and I really LOVED it! It talks about them before they were who they were. It talks about Walt's obessions and Roy's devotion to his brother's dreams. God! If I had a brother who did this for me... the accomplishments I'd have made already in life. It's really a good book if you want to see a little bit of the mind set going on. I really want to find other books that talks about them. I liked how it explained the human side of these two guys. I think that's very imporant for a anyone in a small business with big aspirations to read and understand.

I found this book to be an easy and very enjoyable read. Roy Disney is often overlooked when people are thinking about Walt Disney and the Disney Company. However, as this book shows, he was as important to the Disney Company as Walt. Walt was the creative driving force and Roy was the guy that kept the company solvent and made it possible for Walt's innovations to become realities.Bob Thomas included more history on the Disney family in the book than he did in his biography of Walt. I really appreciated the inclusion of letters that Roy wrote to family and friends through the years. I think that reading those letters helped to give me a better feel for what Roy must have been like.Several times in the book I wondered if I was reading Roy's or Walt's biography because Walt was discussed so often and stories about Walt were told in this book. However, I think that given the unique relationship these brothers had, I doubt that a complete biography of either of these men could be written without stories about the other.I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the Disney Company and it's history. It is also a good book for those that want to know about the businessman Disney brother as well and those wanting to have a better understanding of Walt.

From firsthand experience, I know the tremendous accomplishment Bob Thomas has achieved in his fine documentary on Roy Disney. Roy was a genteel fellow who was highly regarded by colleagues and the financial community. He spoke the language of high finance and was the alchemist who enabled Walt to turn his dreams into gold. Thomas, a veteran scribe whose fine eye for detail is enhanced by his turn-of-phrase ability, has accurately reported Roy's contributions to the Disney Empire. This long-overdue tome is a must for any Disneyphile who is in search of "the rest of the story," or any student of American free enterprise.