The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

This book by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston was genuinely recommended once in the episodes we index, on Tim Ferriss. The people who vouched for it on air: Apollo Robbins. It comes up in conversations about brain health, focus & dopamine. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

'The Illusion of Life' is a book written by veteran Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. It's a detailed first-hand account recollecting the history of Disney animation, offering a unique insider perspective to one of the most creative and expansive times in animation's history. Also includes many photographs and illustrations.

• “Animation, there was a great book called The Illusion of Life by Disney's — what do you call them? His nine men.”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “there was a great book called The Illusion of Life”
  Apollo Robbins · The Tim Ferriss Show · Oct 202300:36:44

  Said during "The World’s Most Famous Pickpocket, Apollo Robbins | The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Apollo Robbins: Sleight-of-hand artist, theatrical pickpocket, and attention/deception expert known as 'The Gentleman Thief'; profiled in The New Yorker and a research collaborator with neuroscientists studying attention. Pickpocket Apollo Robbins reveals how attention, misdirection, and deception work, from stealing from the Secret Service to crafting belief.