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The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas
 
 
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The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: New Haven, New York, Erector Tips (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The man who invented Erector sets might seem like an unlikely subject for a biography, but Watson (London Bridge: 2000 Years of a River Crossing) turns the story of A.C. Gilbert's life and most popular invention into a lively, entertaining read. Erector helped boys create their own miniature worlds; it taught them to use their ingenuity to play at being men. Adults who'd been "Gilbert boys" in their youth used Erector to create such things as the first heart-bypass machine with sets they'd hung onto from their childhoods. Gilbert himself was a "wide-awake" all American boy in the 1880s and '90s who showed his friends how to have a good time. As head of the Mysto manufacturing company and as publisher of Erector Tips (a magazine that not only contained new models to build and contests to win but also tips on life and growing up), he continued to spread his knowledge to boys all over. Gilbert saw opportunities where no one else did, banding U.S. toy manufacturers together and turning WWI into an opportunity to make American-made toys foremost in American homes. A true Renaissance man, he was an accomplished magician, a "4-minute man" promoting patriotism at movie houses and a pole vault champion. In 1918, he saved Christmas from the Council of National Defense, which had decided that parents should be forced to buy Liberty Bonds rather than toys for their children. Watson's spirited style adds a sense of nostalgic whimsy to Gilbert's intense life and makes this quirky book, just like Gilbert's toys, educational and good clean fun.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Watson's brisk biography of Alfred Carleton Gilbert, the inventor of Erector sets, pleasurably evokes a nostalgic corner of Americana. It is no exaggeration to credit Gilbert with creating the modern toy industry (he founded its trade organization and at his peak was the wealthiest toy manufacturer in the country). It is no surprise when Watson emphasizes Gilbert's marketing savvy. He was part of the product, presenting himself in ads as a boy who never grew up, though his friends, as Watson writes, "found Gilbert about as childlike as your IRS auditor." His business success, according to Watson, in part derived from a society worried about the "boy problem," as mischief making in the early 1900s was called. An athletics craze represented one solution (Gilbert himself was an Olympic pole vaulter), and what better way to occupy idle hands than with an Erector set? With a lively and inquisitive writing style, Watson embeds Gilbert in his times, producing an insightful, fluid narrative. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 28, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0142003530
  • ISBN-13: 978-0142003534
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #701,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Bruce Watson
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Haven, New York, Erector Tips, Frank Gilbert, Gilbert Company, World War, American Flyer, Louis Marx, Toy Manufacturers of America, Hello Boys, Council of National Defense, Gilbert Circus Car, Joshua Lionel Cowen, United States, Christmas Eve, New England, Elaine Grotefeld, Eugene Gilbert, Four Minute Men, Harold Heal, Mary Gilbert, Nieuw Amsterdam, Pacific University, Peter Pan, Red Flag Fire Department
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars AC Gilbert beyond Paradise...and into the 21st century, October 31, 2002
By "gilbertologist" (Elmhurst, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made (Hardcover)
Bruce Watson has taken a mostly forgotten american hero and brought him to a new audience. With detailed precision, an alarming wit and an insight that childhood makes the man, Bruce Watson here writes of a long lost era in American history and the paradigm shift that Alfred Carlton Gilbert wrought.

America needs an industrial hero, now. And this book tells of one man who deserves more recognition. A very good read. Not a hobbyist checklist or price-guide, "The man who changed how boys and toys were made" is a warm fuzzy that in reality tells of the reasons why American ingenuity had a boost that lead the pathway to landing on the moon, and hints at why the great American engineering triumphs of the 20th century might be lost in the 21st. Highly reccommended read, far more than a "toy" book.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading, September 12, 2003
By ken k (AZ United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made (Hardcover)
This book should be required reading for industrial designers, toy designers and anyone else involved in design, marketing or production of consumer goods. This is a very important look into market forces, consumer behavior and the importance of placing the consumer first amd foremeost in your product design.

The book may be a biography, but is also a textbook for every enlightened designer and marketer. I will make this required reading for the Industrial design grad student I am mentoring.

Add to the fact that the author's style is at times hilarious, sometimes matter of fact, and the bottom of page 208 and page 209 will bring tears of joy and pride to your eyes.

Well written, entertaining and incredibly informative.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Examines how toys help avert or discharge childhood violence, February 9, 2003
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made (Hardcover)
A.C. Gilbert wore many hats: athlete, magician, and self-made millionaire - but he made his money by creating the Erector set toy back in 1913, making an invention which changed how boys played. The Man Who Changed How Boys And Toys Were Made isn't just a biography of an inventor; it examines how toys help avert or discharge childhood violence, how high-tech toys may serve a different purpose, and differences between how both sexes play.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Toy Lovers' Hero
This book is being hawked to book club types who read widely if not deeply, but it seems to have missed its intended audience. The first clue is it has two subtitles. Read more
Published on March 26, 2006 by Gord Wilson

3.0 out of 5 stars Erectormania
Although I was born too late for the Erector set boom, I, for the most part, enjoyed this biography on toy magnate A.C. Gilbert. Read more
Published on February 25, 2006 by eclectic reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, well done
Bruce Watson takes the reader from AC Gilbert's childhood to his days at Paradise. He explains how this industrial legend developed and advertised his "Toys for Boys"... Read more
Published on January 31, 2003 by Nicholas Carlino

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