Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory

Good condition and no real issues. I wanted to take away a star for not stating that there was handwriting in my book but i am not sure if i had overlooked what Amazon considers good condition used. I would not mind that there is writing in the book but the previous owner wrote really dumb messages in it.

Was required reading, but stopped after a few paragraphs. I saw where this was going. He doesn’t like that some white people formed museums. He would rather have the state operate them, so that they could be the ones showing the true events of the last. Lol

Very interesting book! Was in great shape and worked for my class.

This book was purchased as a textbook for a course I will be taking this fall. I will not be reading it until then.

needed the book for class.

i got it for school and found the readings dry and boring. however this class was an elective and i may have felt differently

Although well-intentioned, this book is simply dry, boring, and uninspiring. Takes a far-left stance with a significant deficiency of sound evidence to back up its claims. Leave it to an academic to talk down to the American people and trash capitalism and corporations. Required reading for a class.

Mike Wallace uses the kind of academic writing all scholars should aspire to achieve--lively, free of jargon, and entertaining. His subject, as suggested by the book's title, is history and the debates that surround its depictions. Wallace observes, astutely, that struggles over how to portray history reveals much about ourselves, our beliefs, and our agendas. Wallace repeatedly points out that history is never neutral, a point well worth reinforcing.My particular interest is Disney Studies, and Wallace has a section (actually two essays) devoted to Disney and its use of history. That's the focus of this review, although some of its points can be generalized to the book as a whole.The first essay concentrates on Disney's portrayals of history in its theme parks. It focuses on certain attractions, such as the Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress, and EPCOT. Wallace does not shy from criticizing Disney's use of history, referring to it as "Disney Realism." But he also does not simply dismiss the potential in integrating history, entertainment, and the kind of technological wizardry Disney is known for. The essay makes a serious case for reconsidering Disney and its techniques, seeing in Disney's depictions of history both the potential and the pitfalls.In his second essay, Wallace concentrates on the failed Disney's America theme park. The chapter provides background information on the proposed park, including the academic and public debates surrounding the project. But it's also a call to re-examine Disney's use of history. For Wallace, simply dismissing Disney as (public, corporate) historian is not an effective strategy. To do so ignores the issues Disney's America raised and the potential in combining entertainment and education to portray the past.Wallace's essays on Disney demonstrate several strengths. 1) They look critically at Disney's use of history as well as the (varied) critical reactions to Disney and "Disney history." 2) They encourage envisioning how the portrayals of the past might usefully employ entertainment techniques and strategies ("edutainment" without the pejorative). 3) They reinforce Wallace's call for critical presentations of the past that open history to even further investigation and discussion - a conversation rather than a static script.Generally, the book's approach requires a careful balance that addresses the challenges of depicting history, different approaches and responses, and critical self-consciousness. For the most part, the book succeeds although more on the public's response would have been welcomed.There is one aspect or element I feel is missing in "Mickey Mouse History" - the stronger development of the strategies Wallace supports. How could/should history be presented? That topic could be a book in itself, but it would have been useful to see greater engagement with, and even answers to, the larger questions the essays have raised.