Back around '03, some of us in the animation community were saddened to hear that our friend Jim Korkis was going to stop writing his wonderful and informative pieces about the history of the Walt Disney Studio. Though many have covered that territory, Jim had a unique way of finding out about stuff that no one had previously documented. No more Korkis articles? What a shame.
Fortunately, around the same time as Jim's announcement, a new Disney scholar suddenly began appearing in most of the same venues — someone named Wade Sampson who had the same knack as Korkis for ferreting out hitherto-uncharted Disney lore. Sampson even wrote a lot like Korkis…and before long, it was the worst-kept secret that the new guy was the same guy, writing under a nom de mouse. I knew because Jim told me but others figured it out…and it's no longer classified information. Jim even cops to it in this fine new book I'm recommending to you…The Vault of Walt. It's an engrossing "must have" for anyone interested in Disneyana. Jim covers things like Walt's ventures into radio shows, movies that were never made, things you never knew about movies that were made, etc. It's 478 pages of that kind of thing, unauthorized and uncensored but also reverent and respectful. (Walt's eldest daughter supplied the foreword so if you're expecting scandal, you're looking in the wrong place.)
Here is an Amazon link to order your copy. If you're even remotely fascinated by Mr. Disney and his amazing company in its creative heyday, click and get yourself one. Of all the folks who've written major works about Walt this year, Jim Korkis is my favorite. And Wade Sampson is a close second.