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Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel
An eye-popping, unauthorized expos? of the House of Barbie
From Boise to Beijing, Mattel's toys dominate the universe. Its no-fun-and-games marketing muscle reaches some 140 countries, and its iconic products have been a part of our culture for generations. Now, in this intriguing and entertaining expos?, "New York Times" bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer places the worl...more
From Boise to Beijing, Mattel's toys dominate the universe. Its no-fun-and-games marketing muscle reaches some 140 countries, and its iconic products have been a part of our culture for generations. Now, in this intriguing and entertaining expos?, "New York Times" bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer places the worl...more
Hardcover, 280 pages
Published
February 1st 2009
by John Wiley & Sons
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Mar 13, 2009
Ed
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Tabloid lovers and former and current Mattel employees who need a laugh.
If you are interested in what Mattel is really like as a company and a place to work or if you are truly interested in how the toy business operates, do not bother reading this piece of high-priced trash.
I was an employee of Mattel for eight plus years in the late 70's to the mid 80's and was eventually laid off (a euphemism for being fired). I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but I still value the years I worked there and do not share Oppenheimer's opinions about what a cruel environmen...more
I was an employee of Mattel for eight plus years in the late 70's to the mid 80's and was eventually laid off (a euphemism for being fired). I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but I still value the years I worked there and do not share Oppenheimer's opinions about what a cruel environmen...more
A fairly quick read, thanks in part to its gossipy tone. While the book is divided into three sections, the chronology within each section tends to be scattered. The book might have been better if it focused more on the early days with flamboyant Jack Ryan and his nemesis, the Handler couple. The section on the recent scandals of Mattel products having lead-based paint or ingestible pieces reads more like the daily news, and while it exposes corporate shenanigans, you really can't call anything...more
I was looking forward to this book as an expose of the inner workings of a massive toy company, and the fight over who really created "Barbie". Instead, I got a book in which the author's bias is terribly clear: he hates Ruth Handler and worships Jack Ryan. The bias shows up in the language used to describe the various players: someone that the author likes simply "tells" a story, while someone that he doesn't like is "boasting" when he details his resume. And boy, does the author hate Ruth Hand...more
OK, I'm just a few chapters in and this book is CRAZY!!!! If you like Mad Men, I think you might find this book fascinating and very entertaining.
*******
I finished the book (FINALLY). The first few chapters were really good, but the rest of this book was so terribly disappointing. The author became extremely caught up in listing dates, names and all kinds of boring details, while focusing less on the anecdotes. I guess it felt as if he just tried to bang out the rest of the book on a deadline. I...more
*******
I finished the book (FINALLY). The first few chapters were really good, but the rest of this book was so terribly disappointing. The author became extremely caught up in listing dates, names and all kinds of boring details, while focusing less on the anecdotes. I guess it felt as if he just tried to bang out the rest of the book on a deadline. I...more
Finished. And I need a bath. I feel unclean.
This is the worst sort of biased, sensationalistic reportage. The author clearly wrote only about what titillated him, focusing his "history" of Mattel on a couple of extreme personalities that were at the company decades apart from each other. His little stories are salacious, one-sided, and lack balance. I will not read another book by him.
This is the worst sort of biased, sensationalistic reportage. The author clearly wrote only about what titillated him, focusing his "history" of Mattel on a couple of extreme personalities that were at the company decades apart from each other. His little stories are salacious, one-sided, and lack balance. I will not read another book by him.
One of my close family members was in the toy business, so that was my main reason for reading this book. He knew many of the people discussed in the story, so it was quite intriguing. The writing style was a little annoying at times (repeated descriptions and nicknames of people) but all in all it was a quick read.
A salacious if not insightful look into the greedy foibles of three Mattel CEOs from the sex-obsessed Jack Ryan (a Mr., Zsa Zsa Gabor) to the narcissistic and incompetent Jill Barad to current CEO and Bratz-slayer Robert A. Eckert.
I attribute my piqued interest in this to two factors:
1) My nerdy journalism side who still likes to read these kinds of books
and
2) The 30-plus Barbies I obsessed over in my collection as a child.
1) My nerdy journalism side who still likes to read these kinds of books
and
2) The 30-plus Barbies I obsessed over in my collection as a child.
I listened to this audiobook immediately after it was released. There were no reviews and I had no idea what to expect. I have to say, I learned a lot. I thought this book was really fascinating.
I could not get through this book. I only read one chapter and all of that was focused on the escapades of the creator of Barbie, one Jack character. Definitely not worth your time.
Oppenheimer's prose was so abysmal that I pretty much spent the entire book making fun of it. I will never read another book by him. But Mattel's history is dirty and entertaining and so I made it to the end of the book.
Skip the first 100 pages about Ruth Handler and Jack Ryan. The only exciting stuff is in 2007/2008. As stated by someone else, not enough facts and week bibliography.
Oppenheimer writes about the seamy side of everything, and I love it.
The book was about as deep and insightful as a copy of "US Weekly" :(
I really enjoyed reading this book. What an eye opener! I learned so much about the makings of Barbie and her creators in the first 20 pages than I ever thought I would ever know. I love that this book didn't feel like it held back any and didn't really feel like an expose. It did however cover everything including the massive toy recall of 2007 and the lawsuit with the Bratz dolls.
I guess three stars is a bit generous, since I started reading it two years ago and haven't bothered to re-borrow it from the library so I can finish it. I don't think I'll be doing that, and I made it through most of the book, so I'll consider it read. It's basically a gossip column in book form--interesting but devoid of useful information.
This author wrote a completely one sided story with no facts to support it. Just because he repeats "Father of Barbie" ten million times does not make it true!
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Apr 02, 2009
Jan
added it
This starts off very unusually.....
Really easy, interesting, angering read. Mattel really is not the family friendly company they've had us believe. Also the recent 2.3 million dollar fine for the lead paint seems like a joke if this book is true.
Mattel was my family for many years. Interested to see what comes out. (And, what doesn't...)
Jumbled chronology, and everything just seemed incredibly dull.
Mar 30, 2013
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Mar 07, 2013
Elvia
marked it as to-read
Mar 07, 2013
Nicole Ash
marked it as to-read
Feb 24, 2013
Demetria
added it
Feb 24, 2013
Mulliwulli
marked it as to-read
Feb 13, 2013
Rory
marked it as to-read
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Jerry Oppenheimer is an author who has written several unauthorized biographies of public figures including Hillary and Bill Clinton, Anna Wintour, Rock Hudson, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters, Ethel Kennedy, Jerry Seinfeld and the Hilton family.
Toy Monster: The Big Bad World of Mattel was published on Feb 3 2009 and his latest book (as of Aug 2, 2009), will be about Bernie Madoff, titled Madoff w...more
More about Jerry Oppenheimer...
Toy Monster: The Big Bad World of Mattel was published on Feb 3 2009 and his latest book (as of Aug 2, 2009), will be about Bernie Madoff, titled Madoff w...more
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