Yesterday's Tomorrow: Disney's Magical Mid-Century

Of all the Disney books I have, and I own many, this is the best. Absolutely beautifully done (someone mentions muddy printwork, not my copy) and I found much new here. The text is informative and fascinating, but primarily this is a photo and graphics book. Best of all, the focus is squarely on Walt as a visionary creative genius. Sadly, when he died he may not have even reached his peak. Disneyland, wonderful as it is, was just a warmup for his real passion: creating a utopian community. He planned to take everything he had learned to create one last project. But he died before he could get started. Who knows what might have been? No one thought he could pull off Disneyland. When we look at where Disneyland is today, we can only wonder what his planned Epcot might be if he had lived. This book is a wonderful testament to his genius.

If you were like me, a child growing up in Southern California in the 1950’s, then you may have felt as if you were in “The Disney Decade”. The studio was back in business after the WWII slump, and their animation techniques had hit a peak. Besides the Disneyland TV show, we could also tune into The Mickey Mouse Club (hour-long shows!) as well as Zorro. Disneyland opened, and appeared to be the physical manifestation of everything we had loved about the Disney animated features. It was a very busy time for one of the leading film studios to flower forth, in many branches of the entertainment industry.In my hometown of Carlsbad, California, several elementary schools provided basic lessons in drawing, taught by a member of the Walt Disney studio. At our school, he taught us by way of closed-circuit television, from a small studio in the back of the principal’s office. This convinced me even more that I was indeed at the right place, in the right time.This book is exhilarating for me. All the images bring up an emotional response. The photographs of the Mouseketeers remind me of the many happy hours I spent enjoying their adventures. The artwork is spectacular, and there is plenty of it. There’s a chapter on Disneyland, The Disneyland Hotel, The World’s Fair, and on and on. It’s a joy to see my memories given such a loving testament.

Really a wonderful book, full of great photos of many Disney projects. Totally happy to have this awesome book.

I’m very familiar with the Disney studios history and there were many surprises in this book. Great design and artwork, great writing, and a great addition to Disney lore.

I’m a fan of Don Hahn’s movies and I’m looking forward to finally reading “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” & having it on my bookshelf, but definitely bummed that the corner is badly dented. The chance you take buying books online, I suppose.

One of the best Disneyana books I’ve found.

Great book for design and for Disney history. A little damage to the dust cover from warehousing but the book was mint.

Such amazing photos from the era we all wish we could visit again if just for a day!

Es un libro precioso con muchas imágenes divinas. ¡Mejor de lo que me imaginé! Si eres tan de Disney y del Mid Century te va a encantar. Llegó en perfecto estado.

This was a very nice look at how Disney both used and affected design and architecture. It was enlightening to see just how pervasive this influence was! There were a few Disney facts I didn’t know and many pictures I hadn’t seen, which is nice for a diehard Disney fan!The only down side was that it was a quick read. I wish it was a larger volume.

Full of interesting information and facts ideal for Disney fans

This book that sold for USD40 when it was first published, and that was a justified price for the high quality publishing done for this book. The content of the book is just wonderful, excellently written by Don Hahn and filled from end to end with beautifully printed photographs. To find this book selling for less than USD9 was just a huge surprise and a real no-brainer purchase for me. Very pleased with the perfect condition this book arrived in, it stands beside other much more pricey art books with no issue at all.

If you were a child, teenager, or adult in the fifties and sixties and visited and Disney theme parks, this book is for you. Pure nostalgia to capture the fun times of yesteryear. The book is probably sixty percent images with a huge selection of Disney concept art for the various pavillions and hotels. Mixed in with the colored images I thought there were too many contemporary news PR photos that don't contribute too much but fill up a lot of page space.The twenty-six chapters cover everything the Disney Corporation got up to in mid-century and not only in the US. Page 129 refers to the Brussels World's Fair of 1958 where the company showed 'America the Beautiful' film on a huge circular screen. Walt was very much looking to the future and Monsanto built a plastic future house in LA Disneyland with a ten-year lease. EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) was a future look at the Florida Disneyland. Architect Welton Beckett (he designed the Capitol Tower in Hollywood) created Progressland, Disney's contribution to the 1964 New York World's Fair.Author Don Hahn ties all the Disney ideas together with his breezy copy and nicely the book, originally published in 2017, isn't too expensive now.