cover image Prince of the Magic Kingdom: Michael Eisner and the Re-Making of Disney

Prince of the Magic Kingdom: Michael Eisner and the Re-Making of Disney

Joe Flower. John Wiley & Sons, $22.95 (309pp) ISBN 978-0-471-52465-6

Walter Elias Disney, perceived as a ``talented hick'' when he first arrived in Hollywood in 1923, ran the studio he founded as a ``usually benevolent dictator.'' After his death in 1956, the company took on a more consciously corporate style, and by 1984, writes Flower, had lost its direction and was being stalked by raiders. In an unexpected move, the corporation appointed as CEO Michael Eisner, a ``story man'' who had risen through the creative ranks, not the business side, to become a top exec at Paramount. Eisner brought the desired ``kiss of craziness '' to the helm of Disney, turning the dormant giant around and leading it into seven years of phenomenal growth. Flower, coauthor of Age Wave , unwinds a riveting narrrative about a company that rususcitated itself by courting creativity and risk. He also probes the tension between Disney's legacy of ``wholesomeness'' and the strong-arm management techniques that abetted its expansion. Photos. (Nov.)