Predicting the future is always risky. But it's probably safe to say that at least a few historians will one day speak of the 20th century as America's 'Disney era'. Today, it's certainly difficult to think of any other single thing that represents modem America as powerfully as the company that created Mickey Mouse. Globally, brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's may be more widely known, but neither concludes 20th-century America in quite the same way as Disney. The reasons for Disney's success are quite a lot, but ultimately the credit belongs to one person - the man who created the cartoon and built the company from nothing, Walt Disney. Ironically, he could not draw particularly well. But he was a genius in other aspects. In business, his greatest skills were his insight and his management ability. After setting himself up in Hollywood, he single-handedly pioneered the concepts of branding and merchandising -- something his company still does brilliantly today. But what really distinguished Disney was his ability to identify with his audiences. Disney always made sure that his films portrayed the 'little boy'. He achieved this by creating characters that reflected the hopes and fears of ordinary people. Disney's other great virtue was the fact that his company -- unlike other big corporations had a human face. His Hollywood studio -- the public heard -- operated just like a democracy, where everyone was on first-name terms and had a say in how things should be run. He was also regarded as a great patriot because not only did his cartoons praise America, but, during World War II, his studios made training films for American soldiers. The reality, of course, was not so perfect. As the public would later learn, Disney's patriotism had an unpleasant side. After a strike by cartoonists in 1941, he agreed to work for the FBI secretly, identifying and spying on colleagues who he suspected were anti-government. But, apart from his affiliations with the FBI, Disney was more or less the genuine article. A new book, The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life, confirms that he was very definitely on the side of ordinary people. In the 30s and 40s he voted for Franklin Roosevelt, believing he was a leader of the workers. Also, Disney was not an apologist for the FBI, as some have suggested. In fact, he was suspicious of large, bureaucratic organizations, as is evidenced in films like That Darned Cat. By the time he died in 1966, Walt Disney was as famous as Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers. To business people and filmmakers, he was a role model to the public, he was 'Uncle Walt' -- the man who had entertained them all their lives, the man who represented all that was good about America. Walt Disney is believed to possess the following abilities EXCEPT