Always on the hunt for a great story? Disney Publishing consistently delivers, bringing us everything from thrilling new releases and compelling non-fiction to adventures featuring our most cherished characters and worlds. They truly have something for every reader, no matter your age.
Today, we’re taking a peek behind the curtain at an exciting upcoming release, straight from the mind of a Disney Legend. Get ready to add something special to your reading list!
One of the best parts of working with Disney Publishing? We get to dive into books even before they hit the shelves. But it’s even better than that: we also get to connect with and learn from incredible authors, including Disney Legends, Imagineers, and even the voices behind our favorite Princesses. Their stories genuinely ignite passion and spark imagination for all of us.
And speaking of inspiring authors, with D23: The Ultimate Fan Event just around the corner, we’re thrilled to give you an exclusive look at a brand-new book: Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible. It comes from the legendary Joe Rohde, a Walt Disney Imagineering veteran and, as he calls himself, a true bookworm.
Joe Rohde is a deep thinker, and his philosophy on creativity and knowledge is truly inspiring. Here’s a sneak peek at what he shares in his new book:
I believe that every creative person should be constantly accumulating knowledge, pure knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself. Research shows that elevated levels of curiosity are directly connected to creativity. What you know directly impacts what you are able to create, so it is good to know as much as you can.
His connection to nature started young. He grew up on O‘ahu, where the natural world was simply part of daily life – from insects inside the house to a yard buzzing with lizards, toads, and all sorts of creatures. He spent hours by streams and ponds, finding solace and joy in exploration amidst a chaotic home life.
When he moved to California, his world of exploration grew even more. His high school offered a fantastic backcountry hiking program, taking them deep into the Sierra Nevada mountains. But as a young adult, with limited funds for travel, Joe found another way to explore: through books. And he devoured a lot of them.
He recalls his childhood in Hawai‘i, where the State Library became an improvised daycare. He would wander through towering stacks, too complex to read, but he meticulously studied the captions under the photographs. This sparked a lifelong love affair with books.
Even today, his home and studio are filled with stacks of books. His family knows he’ll read almost any book they give him, from multi-volume histories of technology to obscure titles on earthworms or premonitions. Joe believes all knowledge is interconnected and valuable, especially for a designer.
All knowledge is interrelated, so it is truly interesting to read almost anything. And if you intend to be a designer, you need to know how to manipulate raw material. Knowledge itself is a kind of raw material. Knowing things is a fundamental creative skill.
Joe emphasizes that reading and learning from books have been crucial throughout his career. He started at Walt Disney Imagineering (then WED Enterprises) in 1980, working on the Mexico Pavilion for EPCOT Center.
He fondly remembers working with Eddie Martinez, a diligent researcher, who was good friends with the legendary Disney artist Herb Ryman. As a junior Imagineer, Joe not only met Herb Ryman but regularly visited his home with Eddie.
Herbie, as everyone called him, was a true adventurer. His house was filled with sketches from his global travels and, most famously, his designs for Disneyland. But what struck Joe most wasn’t just Herbie’s artistry; it was the sheer volume of books in his home – huge leather volumes, paperbacks, art books, history books, theory books.
As a young professional, Joe felt intimidated by Ryman’s artistic talent. But books? Books were something they both understood deeply. It was a shared passion.
Joe realized that he and Herbie shared a core belief: books are as much raw material for creation as paint or clay. For designers involved in making places, it’s vital to study those places extensively – before, during, and after visits – to truly grasp their origins and meanings. It’s also crucial to study cultures out of respect and to maximize collaboration with partners.
As a project leader now, Joe makes sure his team members dive into piles of books at the start of every project. He firmly believes: Knowledge is power. Books are the storage batteries for that power.
In our tech-driven world, it’s easy to think we can bypass physical books. But Joe reminds us why reading still holds immense importance:
Don’t be fooled by your mobile device. All the science says that retention, knowledge, and emotional impact are greater when reading from a physical book.
This incredible book will be available first at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, and you can pre-order it now!
Joe Rohde himself describes Floating Mountains beautifully: “Floating Mountains weaves together stories, creative exercises, and science — it’s serious and funny and practical and whimsical, illustrated with photos and sketches, with some scary bits and some scholarly bits culled from my life of curiosity and exploration. It’s about embracing and directing the power of an ensemble to achieve something that’s never been done before. I wrote it to empower and inspire everyone to seek and achieve seemingly impossible dreams, and to push their thinking to new heights.”
