Books

“Your opinion does not make you an expert. What makes you an expert is your library.”

-- Joe Rohde

Reading my book, DEEP STORY, is no substitute for reading all the others. Here are just a few of the books about Experiential Design that you should have in your professional library.

ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

(You’re going to need a bigger nightstand!)

Recreation Economics

• Walt’s Revolution, By the Numbers, Harrison (Buzz) Price

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Marty Sklar Collection

• One Little Spark, Marty Sklar

• Travels with Figment, Marty Sklar and Bob Weis

• Dream It; Do It, Marty Sklar

• Marty Sklar Archives, TIME CAPSULES of WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING, by Bob Weis, Foreword by Leslie Iwerks, Preface by Rebecca Kline, Edited by Wendy Lefkon, Disney EDITIONS  

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Creative Leadership

• Dream Chasing; My Four Decades of Success and Failure with Walt Disney Imagineering, by Bob Weis

• Creativity, Inc., The Expanded Edition, Ed Catmull

• Taming the Mouse, Tom Mehrmann

• Floating Mountains, The Art of Imagining the Impossible, Joe Rhode

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Foundational

• The Transformation Economy: Guiding Customers to Achieve Their Aspirations,B. Joseph Pine II

• Authenticity, What Consumers Really Want, James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II

• The Experience Economy, Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money, B. Joseph Pine II, James H. Gilmore

• Switch, Chip Heath & Dan Heath

• Made to Stick,Chip Heath & Dan Heath

• Influence, Robert B. Cialdini

• How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie

Myths & Fairy Tales

• In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life, Allan B. Chinen

• Once Upon a Midlife: Classic Stories and Mythic Tales to Illuminate the Middle Years , Allan B. Chinen

• Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim

• The Writers Journey, Vogler

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Writing

• Invisible Ink, Brian McDonald

• The Future of Storytelling: How Immersive Experiences Are Transforming Our World, Charles Melcher

• Immersive Storytelling, Margaret Kerrison

• Reimagined Worlds; Narrative Placemaking for People, Play, and Purpose, Margaret Kerrison

• The Art of Immersive Storytelling: Strategies From the Gaming World, Margaret Kerrison

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ON A NEARBY BOOKSHELF

• Unreasonable Hospitality, The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, Will Guidara

• The Imagineering Story: The Official Biography of Walt Disney Imagineering, Leslie Iwerks 

• The Hand Behind the Mouse: An Intimate Biography of Ub Iwerks, Leslie Iwerks, John Kenworthy

• Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks, Don Iwerks

• Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real, by The Imagineers

• Designing Disney, John Hench

• Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness, Dr. Paul Zak

• Designing Experiences, J. Robert Rossman Ph.D. and Mathew D. Duerden Ph.D.

• The Wave Maker: The Story of Theme Park Pioneer George Millay and the Creation of Sea World, Magic Mountain and Wet'n Wild, Tim O'Brien

• Selling the Invisible, by Harry Beckwith.

• Creating Memorable Worlds: A Journey Into Themed Experience Design, Theron Skees

• The Expo Book by Gordon Linden and Paul W. Creighton

• Creativity, A Short and Cheerful Guide, John Cleese

• Designing for Playful Engagement in Museums: Immersion, Emotion, Narrative, and Gameplay by Edward J. Rodley (2025).

• Bridging the Class Divide in Museums,Victoria (Tori) Beth Bell, of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Also look for her, “Bridging the Diploma Divide” presented at AAM 2025

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THE BOOKS AND FILMS OF LESLIE IWERKS, including:

• The Imagineering Story, A documentary film journey behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering, Directed by Leslie Iwerks

• The Imagineering Story: The Official Biography of Walt Disney Imagineering, Leslie Iwerks (book)

• The Hand Behind the Mouse: An Intimate Biography of Ub Iwerks, Leslie Iwerks, John Kenworthy (book)

• Disneyland Handcrafted, a Leslie Iwerks Film

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Subscriptions Worth Subscribing

The best subscriptions for Experiential Design (Alphabetical order because they’re all great!)

• About Theme Parks - https://www.aboutthemeparks.fun/

• Attractions Management - https://www.leisuremedia.com/

• Blooloop - https://blooloop.com/

• FunWorld - https://iaapa.org/news-funworld

• InPark Magazine - https://www.inparkmagazine.com/

• Leisure Media - https://www.leisuremedia.com/

• Theme Park Insider - https://www.themeparkinsider.com/

• Themed Attraction Magazine – https://www.ThemedAttraction.com

Podcasts I Like

Excellent audio about Experiential Design (Alphabetical order because they’re all great!)

• Experience Designers Show Listen here

• Experience X Design Podcast Listen Here

• Imagineering; The Stories Behind the Storytellers

• Masters of Storytelling Listen here

• The Season Pass Podcast Listen here

• The Theme Park Duo Podcast  Listen here

• The Themed Attraction Podcast  Listen here

• FutureSpaces Listen Here

  (More to come)