So today on the podcast, we will take a look at a new book about the creation of Walt Disney's

Enchanted Tiki Room, a book called Before the Bird sang words by Ken Bruce. And for regular listeners,

you already know that we have a unique format on our episodes about books. First, as always,

I will read you a chapter from the book itself,

so that you can fall into the details, hear the rhythm and flow of the narrative, and observe

how the author uses language. I also do this so that you will have a better sense of the author's

overall project and vision, which

is something that you can't simply get from a discussion of the book itself. And then next we'll

bring in the author for a short discussion. I like this book for a number of reasons. First, because

it looks deeply at both the history of the attraction and also how the

attraction was shaped by American art and popular culture. In Disney circles, we often look at the

history of an attraction as though it was simply a vision that was dreamed up inside of WED

or WDI.

But more accurately, attraction development is often a silent discussion between designers

and trends in Western culture.

This book nails that, how trends in Tiki and Polynesian culture of the late 1950s and

early 1960s give rise to Walt's

interest in an island-themed show. Second, the author had access to a wide range of documents

and expertly weaves this material together into an interesting story. Third, there are details in this book that I've not seen anywhere before.

And lastly, this book isn't just the story of the Tiki Room.

It's the story of Walt's design process in the early 1960s, or to put that another way. Though this book is focused on the

subject of the Tiki Room, the author uses that topic smartly to tell a much larger story. Okay,

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