BooksJason's Thoughts & Observations

Review: LIFE Mickey Mouse at 90 Magazine/Book

LIFE Mickey Mouse at 90 – LIFE Celebrates an American IconLIFE Mickey 90 Publication

To celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90th Birthday this year LIFE Books has a special publication that was released in August.   I am not sure if you would call it a book or a magazine.. it seems to fall somewhere in between.   The issue is a highlight version of Mickey’s career, global reach and influence on everyone from entertainers to sports figures to politicians to the Pope.   Mickey’s Career is broken down into the following pieces:

  • Mickey’s Universe
  • A Mouse is Born
  • A Mouse Takes Off
  • Mickey and the Presidents
  • The House That Mouse Built
  • Mickey and Sports
  • Thoroughly Modern Mickey
  • Mickey and Art

This magazine/book features 90 pages of pictures and articles devoted to Mickey Mouse.   I found it to be a easy read and great to see some of the pictures.   None of the stories or pictures were particular unique or new if you have read other pieces over the years or know some of Mickey’s history.  I would have liked to have seen something more/new/unique, not sure what that could be though given how much about Mickey has been published over the years.  The closest this release comes to that is several pieces touch on/look at how wide the reach/impact of Mickey has been over the years.     I always find it interesting to see what stories/tidbits of information are included or excluded in publications like this.   The pictures include several “classic” ones and some that are a little more rare/obscure, but I believe I have seen them all or similar ones over the years.

I would recommend this for someone who is interested in almost a cliff notes version of Mickey’s story and impact or if you enjoy rereading some stories about the mouse from over the years.  If you are looking for something more in depth than a series of magazine articles you may be disappointed with this offering especially at its current price point.