Bendazzi, Giannalberto. 1996. CARTOONS: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
(At times quite pretentious and elitist -- The Simpsons are vulgar? -- due to poor translation, this book covers cartoons throughout the world. The writing style does not undermine how comprehensive this text is. Occasionally overwhelming in its detail. Beautiful screen captures.)
Bohl, Al. 1997. Guide to Cartooning. Louisiana: Pelican Publishing.
(This condescending and often grating book is designed to steer people on the path to cartooning fame. Bohl's suggestions are rather mundane and his examples of the perfect comic strip are stupid, at best. His steps on making a short animated film are rather helpful, but uninventive.)
Cabarga, Leslie. 1988. The Fleischer Story. New York: Da Capo Press.
(Some of the worst writing I have ever seen is in this history of the Fleischer Studio. Still, the history remains under the crap, with many photos -- but no color plates to express the Fleischer's often amazing use of rotoscoping. Full of distracting typos and such grammatical gems as: "One of the most significant events to occur in the last few years has been the rediscovery of animation by animators!" Yay!)
Crafton, Donald. 1993. Before Mickey: The Animated Film (1898-1928). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
(The title is rather self-explanatory; interesting read.)
Culhane, Shamus. 1986. Talking Animals and Other People: The Autobiography of a Legendary Animator. New York: St. Martin's Press.
(Culhane worked at nearly every major animation studio during their respective "golden ages." His autobiography, reprinted in 1998 after his death by the Da Capo Press, tells of his career at and between each studio. Culhane does not address his career with the same nonchalance as Chuck Jones, so some of the text is a bit heavyhanded...not to mention boring. However, Culhane's work as an animator is priceless -- the "Heigh Ho" scene of Snow White as one of the first to spring to mind.)
Gray, Milton. 1991. Cartoon Animation: Introduction to a Career. California: Lion's Den Publications.
(Incredibly bland. The flip-book included in the pages doesn't even work, as it is impossible to flip. A waste of almost thirteen bucks.)
Jones, Chuck. 1989. Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist. New York: Avon Books.
(Interesting, well-written memoir from the director of many Warner Bros. cartoon shorts. Jones tends to wax poetic a bit too often and he compares the characters to Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, and Woody Allen at every possible interval. Beautiful stills and sketches complement the text.)
Jones, Chuck. 1996. Chuck Reducks: Drawing from the Fun Side of Life. New York: Warner Books.
(In a follow-up to his 1989 memoir, Jones improves writing style and provides humorous anecdotes and a bit more background history. Also includes detailed information on the many Warner Bros. characters that Jones directed.)
Laybourne, Kit. 1979. The Animation Book. New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks.
(Complete, if somewhat outdated, guide to the many techniques behind animation -- claymation, puppetry, stop-motion animation, etc. Camera and film information also addressed in-depth. A revised edition was recently published, with a larger chapter on computer animation.)
Lenburg, Jeff. 1993. The Great Cartoon Directors. New York: Da Capo Press.
(The book feels like nothing more than a selection of information from Leonard Maltin's history. It ignores important contributors to animation, chosing instead to focus on major studio movers-and-shakers. Culhan points out in his autobiography that Lenburg selected Dave Fleischer as a "great director," even though Fleischer acted more as a supervisor, with no direct connection to the animation. Skimpy index, too.)
Maltin, Leonard. 1987. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York: Plume.
(An excellent source for the histories of the Disney and Warner Bros. studio, this book addresses all the major animation producers of the 20th century. However, in its attempt to do so, it neglects various independent animators and provides extremely one-sided analysis of particular films.)
Powell, William F. 1989. Perspective. California: Walter Foster Publishing.
(Not about animation per se, this book helps break down perspective and is thus useful in animation production. For such a slim volume, the relatively large price tag of $9.00 isn't justified.)
Schneider, Steve. 1988. That's All Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
(Typos galore color this already colorful book, which chronicles the golden age of Termite Terrace, et al. Breakdowns of characters and infamous Warner Bros. directors. Without an index, however, it is hard to navigate through this book without using dogears.)
Blair, Preston. 1994. Cartoon Animation. California: Walter Foster Publishing.
(Blair, a notable figure in the animation world, writes little and draws a lot in this book. The layout is poor but directions clear. Blair tends to get worked up in his own style, as he dictates one and only way to draw -- in Disney-like form. A concise bibliography in the back covers the basics of what Blair addresses.)
White, Tony. 1988. The Animator's Workbook. New York: Billboard Publications.
(Helpful step-by-step book. While it suffers from lack of an index, poorly arranged table of contents, and occasionally unclear instructions, the illustrations clarify the text extraordinarily.)
