Pixar book offered biz lessons

In The Wall Street Journal's list of the year's "best books," one business book made the list: "The Pixar Touch" by David A. Price (Alfred A. Knopf, $27.95).

Reporter Mark Lasswell, who compiled the list, wrote: According to reviewer Paul Boutin ... Price's history of the animation studio behind such winning children's fare as "Toy Story," "The Incredibles" and "Wall-E" -- offers "unprecedented detail about the notoriously press-shy company's workings." But Boutin also admired the book's many "lessons for business people and creative artists alike. Chief among the lessons is that no one invents anything in isolation and that getting fired can turn out to be a promotion." Price recounted how John Lasseter, a central figure in Pixar's rise, was fired as a computer animator by Disney but in 2006 returned in triumph, after Disney bought Pixar.