Barbieland

A rollicking tale of how Mattel spied, copied, and stole its way to market dominance, then fought with military intensity to compel us to buy more and more. The New York Times The secret history of Barbie and what Mattel has done to keep her on top.For nearly seven decades, Mattel billed Barbie as the first adult dolla revolutionary alternative to the baby dolls before her, which had treated little girls as future mothers rather than future women. But Barbie was no original. She was a knockoff: a nearly identical copy of a German doll now erased from the narrative in favor of Mattels preferred version of history. It was Barbies first secret but far from her last. In the brilliant (New York magazine) Barbieland, the long-hidden backstory of the worlds most famous doll is finally exposed. After snuffing out her predecessor, Barbie climbed to the throne of global girlhood and stayed there, fending off rivals with a mix of strategic marketing, government influence, ruthless litigation, and covert tactics worthy of a classic spy novel. This must-read (John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead) ride through the underbelly of American business pulls back the curtain on the corporate titans, cultural influencers, and toyland rivals who shaped this icons worldfrom flawed founder Ruth Handler to convicted Wall Street fraudster (and improbable Barbie savior) Michael Milken to the Bratz doll empire, which once put the brand on life support. Through investigative reporting, global archival research, and interviews with key players from across the Barbie extended universe, Barbieland lays bare the unseenand so often absurdwork that made Mattel a multibillion-dollar business and turned Barbie into an institution: a symbol as synonymous with American soft power as Coca-Cola and McDonalds french fries.