{"product_id":"a-mickey-mouse-reader-garry-apgar-9781628461039","title":"A Mickey Mouse Reader","description":"Contributions by Walter Benjamin, Lillian Disney, Walt Disney, E. M. Forster, Stephen Jay Gould, M. Thomas Inge, Jim Korkis, Anna Quindlen, Diego Rivera, Gilbert Seldes, Maurice Sendak, John Updike, Irving Wallace, Cholly Wood, and many others \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRanging from the playful, to the fact-filled, and to the thoughtful, this collection tracks the fortunes of Walt Disney's flagship character. From the first full-fledged review of his screen debut in November 1928 to the present day, Mickey Mouse has won millions of fans and charmed even the harshest of critics. Almost half of the eighty-one texts in \u003ci\u003eA Mickey Mouse Reader\u003c\/i\u003e document the Mouse's rise to glory from that first cartoon, \u003ci\u003eSteamboat Willie\u003c\/i\u003e, through his seventh year when his first color animation, \u003ci\u003eThe Band Concert\u003c\/i\u003e, was released. They include two important early critiques, one by the American culture critic Gilbert Seldes and one by the famed English novelist E. M. Forster. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Articles and essays chronicle the continued rise of Mickey Mouse to the rank of true icon. He remains arguably the most vivid graphic expression to date of key traits of the American character--pluck, cheerfulness, innocence, energy, and fidelity to family and friends. Among press reports in the book is one from June 1944 that puts to rest the urban legend that \"Mickey Mouse\" was a password or code word on D-Day. It was, however, the password for a major pre-invasion briefing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Other items illuminate the origins of \"Mickey Mouse\" as a term for things deemed petty or unsophisticated. One piece explains how Walt and brother Roy Disney, almost single-handedly, invented the strategy of corporate synergy by tagging sales of Mickey Mouse toys and goods to the release of Mickey's latest cartoons shorts. In two especially interesting essays, Maurice Sendak and John Updike look back over the years and give their personal reflections on the character they loved as boys growing up in the 1930s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Garry Apgar\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1628461039\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781628461039\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/30\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 417\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.82lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.38h x 6.26w x 1.36d","brand":"Garry Apgar","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43939398058239,"sku":"9781628461039","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_8cefeae8-1bc3-4279-9211-d295a925eac3.jpg?v=1681441255","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-mickey-mouse-reader-garry-apgar-9781628461039","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}