Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination is a well-researched biography which doesn’t put Disney on a pedestal, or takes his side on several issues

Tarzan The Centennial Celebration by Scott Tracy Griffin is a coffee table book (13″ x 10 1/4″) celebrating 100 years of the famous lord of the jungle. Mr. Griffin is the leading authority on Edgar Rice Burroughs and on his 1912 creation of which this book is about.

Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger is an autobiography of the famous actor, politician and champion body builder.

Twelve year old Hugo shoulders a lot of responsibility for his age. His parents are dead and his caretaker is his drunkard uncle, tender to the train station’s clocks, which one day simply disappears.

Son of a watchmaker, Hugo who loves to tinker with mechanical toys takes it upon himself to maintain the clocks while hiding in the hidden world of the train station. One day he finds an automaton, a mechanical man, which was cherished by his late father. Hugo restores the toy using his father’s notebook as a reference, he gets his parts by stealing them from the old man who owns a toy kiosk in the station.

The book is divided into eight chapters which help the reader understand George Lucas. The story starts from Lucas’ humble beginnings in Modesto, CA, introduces us to his family and start in the film making business. The book then goes to analyze each of the Star Wars films and the creative process (not the technicalities of movie making) which created the much beloved stories and characters.

The book is an easy to read overview of the process, in layman’s language, targeting those in the entrainment industry from novices to experienced professionals

Reading about the process from an industry expert with a mind to teach rather than just boast, is enlightening to any fan of animation.