Adam M. Berger – Author

EVERY GUEST IS A HERO: Disney’s Theme Parks and the Magic of Mythic Storytelling
(2013 – BCA Press)

Though you may not be aware of it, whenever you’re playing in any of Disney’s many theme parks, the Imagineers who designed those parks are busy playing with your head. EVERY GUEST IS A HERO reveals for the first time how the artists and technical wizards of Walt Disney Imagineering have harnessed the magic of mythic storytelling to press all sorts of psychological buttons you never knew you had, inspiring you and millions of your fellow visitors to return to the parks again and again.

Longtime theme park designer and attraction show writer Adam M. Berger is your tour guide, decoding the mythic themes and archetypes of the Disney parks in an entertaining, engaging, and always accessible manner. You’ll discover page after page of “ah-ha!” moments as you encounter one surprising connection after another. You’ll also find a collection of ten “Mything in Action” case studies that break down the mythic content of some of your favorite Disney attractions, scene-by-scene. Once you’ve read EVERY GUEST IS A HERO, you’ll never look at your favorite Disney attractions the same way again.

Adam has done something very important. He goes right to the heart of what makes things work and why they don’t work. If you want to be an Imagineer, are an Imagineer, or enjoy playing armchair Imagineer, then you will want a copy for your collection.
– Sam Gennawey, MiceChat.com

Berger’s central thesis of applying the hero logic to Disney theme park attractions provides a wonderful starting point for analysis. It’s always interesting and will certainly provide fodder for further discussion.
– Kevin Yee, UltimateOrlando.com

Every Guest is a Hero tells how the Imagineers use every resource to tell a story. This is truly an amazing, well-thought out and interesting book that every Disney lover (and even those few non-Disney lovers in the world) should read.
– Janice Brady, The Adult Side of Disney

This book tells us not just how visitors enjoyed the ride but why they enjoyed it and how this enjoyment was brought about. Every Guest is a Hero makes fascinating reading for aspiring theme park designers, psychologists and anyone interested in the visitor experience. 
– Charles Read, blooloop.com

Fans that want a deeper look at the attractions will love this, as well as people who are interested in designing attractions. If you have an interest in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes of the attractions, story-wise, make sure you pick it up. 
– George Taylor, Communicore Weekly Podcast

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AN ACCIDENTAL GOLEM
Adult Historical Fantasy
(work-in-progress)

Twelve-year-old Hannah and her little brother Levi love sneaking around Prague’s Jewish Quarter after dark, eavesdropping on the secrets of their neighbors. Late one night their curiosity leads them to witness the impossible: the city’s chief rabbi, Judah Loew, bringing a towering clay golem to life to defend his community from the antisemitic mob massing outside the ghetto wall. But with supernatural energies swirling around their hiding place, the two children end up with something no one intended: a free-spirited, shape-shifting, pocket-size “accidental golem” which they struggle to keep hidden.

While the original golem patrols the ghetto streets and a power-hungry alchemist goads the angry mob to action, the same mystical forces that animate both golems awaken an ancient horror beneath the surface of the Vltava River. With danger closing in from both earthly threats and the supernatural, Hannah must rely on her ingenuity and chutzpah, reluctantly joining forces with a brave Jewish spy, the emperor’s lovely and feisty Royal Folklorist, two wildly unpredictable clay defenders, and a cemetery full of kvetching ghosts to save everyone she knows and loves from all-but-certain annihilation.