Former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger is publishing a second memoir titled One Last Time: Managing Crisis and Building Resilience at Disney, detailing his turbulent return to lead the entertainment conglomerate from 2022 to 2026. Announced on October 20, 2026, by Penguin Random House, the book is written with Dan Schwerin and serves as a follow-up to Iger's 2019 bestseller, The Ride of a Lifetime. While Penguin Random House, Bloomberg, and People report that the hardcover, ebook, and author-narrated audiobook will be released on March 2, 2027, Deadline reports the release date as March 1.

North American publishing rights for the title were acquired by Andy Ward at Random House from Esther Newberg at CAA. According to Iger's public statement accompanying the announcement, the book represents a "comeback story" focused on what the company required to reconnect with its core principles during an era of industry-wide disruption.

Navigating a 'Permanent Crisis' in Hollywood

Iger first led Disney as chief executive from 2005 to 2020, stepping down from the top post in early 2020 while remaining on board temporarily to oversee creative endeavors. Less than a year after his full retirement, the chairman of Disney's board contacted Iger to ask if he would return to his former position. According to promotional material cited by Deadline, the board reached out at a moment when company finances were shaky, internal morale was dangerously low, leadership was flagging, and the overarching brand had become tarnished.

Returning to the chief executive desk in 2022, Iger faced a media landscape that had shifted dramatically since his initial departure. The publisher notes that his second tenure—which concluded when he stepped down in March 2026, according to People—was defined by an environment of "permanent crisis." Rather than managing standard corporate transitions, Iger's four-year return required steering the Burbank studio through a series of high-stakes operational and cultural battles.

According to the official synopsis from Penguin Random House, the memoir will address specific flashpoints from the 2022–2026 period. These include fending off two hostile proxy battles, navigating the dual 2023 writers' and actors' labor strikes, adapting to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and managing public and political scrutiny, including the controversy surrounding ABC's temporary suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. The publisher states that Iger had to develop a new leadership playbook to regain the trust of shareholders, employees, and consumers while owning up to his own missteps along the way.

The Battle of the Disney Bobs

The timing of Iger's announcement adds a new chapter to one of Hollywood's most closely watched executive feuds. As Vulture points out, the news arrives less than a month after Iger's handpicked successor—and the man he subsequently replaced—published his own account of the C-suite turmoil. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who previously led the company's Parks and Experiences division before serving as chief executive from 2020 to 2022, released his memoir, Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth, in September 2026.

In his book, Chapek contended that he was set up to fail, alleging that Iger stepped aside in early 2020 to avoid managing the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to meddle in corporate operations throughout Chapek's tenure. While Iger's publisher frames One Last Time as an examination of corporate resilience and creativity, industry observers are watching to see how directly Iger will counter Chapek's allegations. Meanwhile, current Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro remains outside the literary crossfire between his two predecessors. To assist in crafting the narrative, Iger collaborated with Schwerin, a writer best known for helping Hillary Clinton pen her 2017 memoir, What Happened.

Key Questions Surrounding the Memoir

Will Iger give a detailed account of how the board approached him about returning, and what conditions he set before accepting?

The publisher's promotional blurb confirms that the narrative kicks off with the urgent call from Disney's board chairman less than a year into Iger's retirement. However, the initial press announcement does not specify what contractual or operational conditions Iger negotiated before agreeing to retake control in 2022.

How will the memoir characterize the failed succession and the relationship between Iger and Bob Chapek?

While the publisher's framing emphasizes that Iger returned to a company with flagging leadership and tarnished brand value, the official announcement does not detail how extensively Iger will address Chapek by name or respond to the specific claims made in Behind the Castle Walls.

Will it address specific decisions and disputes from Iger's second tenure, or focus primarily on broad leadership lessons?

According to Penguin Random House, the book blends broad executive philosophy with concrete operational history. Alongside themes of resilience and core values, the synopsis explicitly promises coverage of the 2023 Hollywood strikes, two hostile proxy fights, the rise of AI, and ABC's temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.

Does the discrepancy over the release date reflect a reporting error or a change in the publisher's schedule?

The difference between the March 1, 2027 date reported by Deadline and the March 2, 2027 date listed by Penguin Random House, Bloomberg, and People appears to be a minor reporting variance. In the United States publishing industry, new hardcover releases are traditionally scheduled for Tuesdays, which aligns with the publisher's stated date of Tuesday, March 2, 2027.

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