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Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: burp gun, Los Angeles, Toy Fair, New York (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
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Frequently Bought Together

Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her + Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel + Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
Price For All Three: $38.91

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  • This item: Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her by Robin Gerber

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  • Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel by Jerry Oppenheimer

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  • Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll by M. G. Lord

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Cofounder of the Mattel Company, Ruth Handler and her husband, Elliot, turned the toy industry upside down, not only with the 1959 creation of Barbie and the subsequent introduction of boyfriend Ken but also with Hot Wheels and prescient advertising tie-ins to the Mickey Mouse Club. Yet the behind-the-scenes journey is just as fascinating as the public persona: born the tenth child of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Ruth was raised by her sister—and, early on, recognized the talent of her husband as a designer. Motherhood was not her natural state of being, though she named both dolls after her children. After being forced out of Mattel in the 1970s, Ruth then founded a second company, “Nearly Me,” producing prosthetics designed for women who had undergone mastectomies—just like her. Tragedy, unfortunately, continued to strike the family; son Ken died of AIDS in 1994, and Ruth herself lost her battle with cancer in 2002. Despite the research, Handler seems to have a two-dimensional luster, rather than the pioneering and dynamic businesswoman seen in other articles and books. Nonetheless, a fascinating account of entrepreneurial ups and downs. --Barbara Jacobs


Review

This stirring biography is a fine study of success and resilience. --Publishers Weekly
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Product Details

More About the Author

Robin Gerber
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› Visit Amazon's Robin Gerber Page
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
burp gun
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, Toy Fair, New York, Hot Wheels, Wall Street, Josh Denham, Art Spear, Jack Ryan, United States, World War, Ringling Bros, The Doll Nobody Wanted, The Mickey Mouse Club, Joe Whittaker, Pat Schauer, Gambling Everything, The Wages, Fred Held, Fifth Avenue, B'nai B'rith, Marvin Barab, Bernie Loomis, Seymour Rosenberg, Tom Kalinske, Forced Service
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her
78% buy the item featured on this page:
Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her 4.5 out of 5 stars (22)
$13.49
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12% buy
Barbie: All Dolled Up: Celebrating 50 Years of Barbie 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
$19.77
Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
4% buy
Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll 4.5 out of 5 stars (6)
$9.36
Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel
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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Inside Information, February 6, 2009
By Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Barbie and Ruth is primarily the story of Ruth, and Barbie isn't in it as much as I'd like, but I will say that Ruth Handler makes a great subject.

She was driven and that's the word for her. Married to a man she considered a genius, she moved heaven and earth to make his toys happen, and after awhile, she began enjoying the power of being one of the few female toy executives. Her own two children, Barbie and Ken, were brought up almost in absentia, even though their Los Angeles home was designed and decorated within an inch of its life, including many factors ordinary children could only dream about having--such as a live tree growing up along the staircase, and a operating soda fountain in the basement! And still they were dissatisfied with their lives.

So was Ruth, and the book goes to great pains to show how Ruth's dissatisfactions led her down the primrose path of crime, so that idiotically she risked her company's future by participating in an ill thought out plan to conceal losses and to protect its credit during some lean times, by inflating to its stockholders the amount of profit Mattel was making. After years in court, she saw defeat, yet by this time she had another enemy to surmount--breast cancer, which for a woman who had always prided herself on her figure, was especially devastating. She did not take cancer lying down and instead started a new company with a feminist consciousness--Nearly Me, which developed and manufactured breast prosthetics from a female point of view. This part of the story was inspiring.

Forty-five "overt acts" of fraud were mentioned in the indictment, as her enemies rejoiced how the mighty had fallen. A lie detector test helped clear her beloved Elliott of any charges.

Anyone interested in the toy business might find BARBIE AND RUTH to be just the book they were looking for. So many inside facts I had never accounted for! For example, Mattel succeeded where others failed because it owned no factory equipment and merely outsourced all of its physical requirements to other, smaller firms--neoliberalism at an peak. And also why even a great toy like the little 17-key "grand piano" Mattel pioneered was doomed to fail, because it was made of so many contrasting materials that it was bound to roll up huge deficits from breakage in shipping--who'd a thunk it?
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Barbie and Ruth, February 19, 2009
I was an employee of Mattel during the time of Jill Barad's "reign." This book by Ms. Gerber completely puts into context the Mattel culture that evolved from its founder. Ruth Handler was an intriguing blend of an entrepreneur who carved the way for others and someone who complacently towed the line of gender-based expectations. For example, she was the keynote speaker at a men's club, but while her husband was escorted the proper way to the room assigned for her engagement, she was taken by way of the kitchen and garbage. Most importantly, while no one can underestimate the unfathomable wealth she accumulated due to her business acumen, her true successes came post-Mattel but most probably would not have been achieved without it. She helped survivors of mastectomies re-gain their self-esteem, re-connected with her children, inspired legions of executive women et al, and supported troubled youths. As a sort of B-story, I found it amusing that while Ruth's son Ken (who struggled with his sexuality) resented his name having been given to the Ken doll, the doll is well-received by the gay community. Ms. Gerber is indeed a masterful storyteller.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging From Start to Finish, February 18, 2009
Who knew that the creator of the Barbie doll was a felon, a cancer survivor, a daughter of Jewish immigrants, a founder of Mattel, and that the real Ken that inspired the Ken doll was a victim of HIV and resented the materialism and negative effect of the doll that bore his name. It's an absolutely riveting and fascinating story. I couldn't put it down. Gerber's command of story telling helps us to understand Ruth Handler, scorn her, sympathize with her, and learn from her successes and failures. I'm surprised there was so little known about this pioneering woman behind the doll that we all know and love or hate. I loved this book from start to finish.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars It'a a Barbie world
One of the selling points for the Barbie doll and all her accessories is the perfectness of her life. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Mary G. Longorio

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellnt Biography of Ruth handler
I was surprised at how interesting and well-written this book about Ruth Handler, the founder of Mattel Toy Company and the creator of the Barbie doll was. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Edward J. Hahn

2.0 out of 5 stars Is there anything to like about Ruth and her husband?
While millions of Jews were dying in the gas chambers, Ruth's husband avoids military service with lies he is in the "war effort" as he produces gift items. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Avid Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just Barbie, Ken & Hot Wheels... This is Ruth's amazing journey!
This book is so wonderfully written it deserves an award!
It is extremely well researched and extremely well written. Read more
Published 6 months ago by CJ

4.0 out of 5 stars Barbie in context!
I learned so much from reading Ms. Gerber's book. The best part for me was the history lesson. When you put Barbie and her development in the context of the times you gain a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Genni Sasnett

5.0 out of 5 stars what a chick!!
Barbie inspired me more, growing up, than I think I realized. Barbie and Ruth is an interesting history of children and of toy choices through the years as well as an inspiring... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Katherine Robertson

4.0 out of 5 stars Who knew!(?)
I read Barbie and Ruth in one fell swoop. I had a ton of work to do, but I too couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Katherine Bergman

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspirational read based on original research, interviews, and previously unpublished material
Any fan of Barbie dolls or collector of the dolls should also have BARBIE AND RUTH: THE STORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS DOLL AND THE WOMAN WHO CREATED HER. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Midwest Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Gerber is a talented biographer
Having just finished an awful biography of Joni Mitchell, I was a bit hesitant about launching into this book, especially since I'd never heard of Ruth Handler. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Not Yet a Lemming

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read....
This is a very enjoyable read. I learned how Mattel got started. My girls had Barbie dolls and I found it very interesting to read how the Barbie doll came into being. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Bookloving Grandma

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