Bob Thomas was hand-picked by then Disney studio head Ron Miller, husband of Diane Disney Miller, to write this biography. Bob had interviewed Walt Disney on several occasions, and had already written a children's book called Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies (1968). This project was initiated when the studio was at it's creative nadir. Looking back at Walt's life and triumphs was perhaps a way of linking the lackluster management of the seventies with the creative vision and risk-taking dynamism of the studio founder.