Toy Monster
The Big, Bad World of Mattel
(Sprache: Englisch)
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-Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Chatty Cathy, to name a few-have been a part of our culture for...
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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-Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Chatty Cathy, to name a few-have been a part of our culture for generations.Now, in this intriguing and entertaining exposé, New York Times bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer places the world's largest toy company under a journalistic microscope, uncovering the dark side of toy land, and exploring Mattel's oddball corporate culture and eccentric, often bizarre, cast of characters.
Based on exclusive interviews and an exhaustive review of public and private records, Toy Monster exposes Mattel's take-no-prisoners, shark-infested corporate style. Throughout this scrupulously reported, unauthorized portrait, you'll discover how dangerous toys are actually nothing new to Mattel, and why its fearsomely litigious approach within the brutal toy business has helped their products dominate over potential rivals such as Bratz.
But this is only part of the story. Along the way, you'll also become familiar with the larger-than-life personalities that have shaped Mattel's eccentric world. There's cofounder Ruth Handler, a "one-woman sales-merchandising-promotion-administrative force, a sort of industrial Orson Welles," who becomes a white-collar criminal. There's Jack Ryan, the "Father of Barbie," whose second of five wives calls him "a full-blown seventies-style swinger into wife-swapping and sundry sexual pursuits as a way of life." And don't forget CEO Robert Eckert, who came from the worlds of processed cheese and hot dogs to lead Mattel-only to get grilled by the U.S. Congress, and the world press, in the lead-paint-and-dangerous-magnets cause célèbre.
The phenomenal Barbie brand's 50th anniversary arrives in 2009, hot on the heels of the China Toy Terror recall scandal that has tarnished Mattel's image in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide. Toy
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Monster takes you inside the scandals that have been a part of this company, and shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.
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Praise for Toy Monster
"Jerry Oppenheimer, one of America's great biographers, has expanded his vision in this book by probing and exposing the dark side of the multibillion-dollar, international toy industry. Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, Oppenheimer's opus contains all the intrigue and drama of an epic novel. Barbie will never be the same! I can hardly wait for the film version."
-C. David Heymann, author of A Woman Named Jackie
"'Behind every great fortune is a great crime.' So wrote Balzac, which gave The Godfather its opening epigram. But a great crime behind the sweet House of Barbie? Yikes! Terrors in toy land! The scandal. The skullduggery! This book is enough to scare Santa Claus."
-Kitty Kelley, author of The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty
"Mattel was a place you had to watch your back. It has always been a place where people are pitted against each other. . . a shark pond. As one former top executive declares, 'You throw people in and see if they can swim fast enough to stay alive.' Another says, 'There was a tremendous amount of self-merchandising. People were constantly making it known how great they were in order to get noticed.'"
-From Toy Monster
"Jerry Oppenheimer, one of America's great biographers, has expanded his vision in this book by probing and exposing the dark side of the multibillion-dollar, international toy industry. Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, Oppenheimer's opus contains all the intrigue and drama of an epic novel. Barbie will never be the same! I can hardly wait for the film version."
-C. David Heymann, author of A Woman Named Jackie
"'Behind every great fortune is a great crime.' So wrote Balzac, which gave The Godfather its opening epigram. But a great crime behind the sweet House of Barbie? Yikes! Terrors in toy land! The scandal. The skullduggery! This book is enough to scare Santa Claus."
-Kitty Kelley, author of The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty
"Mattel was a place you had to watch your back. It has always been a place where people are pitted against each other. . . a shark pond. As one former top executive declares, 'You throw people in and see if they can swim fast enough to stay alive.' Another says, 'There was a tremendous amount of self-merchandising. People were constantly making it known how great they were in order to get noticed.'"
-From Toy Monster
Inhaltsverzeichnis zu „Toy Monster “
Part I: The Barbie War and The Handler-Ryan EraChapter 1: Barbie's Untold Heritage
Chapter 2: A Shocking Cover-up
Chapter 3: From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Barbie, and the knocking off of a German doll
Chapter 4: Putting the "Matt" in Mattel and How the Toymaker Became a Hotbed of Aggressive Hotheads
Chapter 5: Real-Life Barbie Dolls
Chapter 6: Horrific Scandal, Controversy and Indictments
Chapter 7: A Civil War and a Hollywood Romance
Chapter 8: A Bloody Tragic Ending
Part II: A Drama Princess and the Barad Era
Chapter 9: "Miss Italian America"
Chapter 10: From "He-Man" to Home Depot
Chapter 11: A Fearsome and Firing Diva and the Great Whistleblower Debacle
Chapter 12: The Princess Di Fiasco, Praying For Success, and Demi Plays Barad
Chapter 13: Another Whistleblower in the Ranks, Toyland's Worst Acquisition and the End of a Reign
Part III: Toy Terror, The Bratz Attack, and the Eckert EraChapter 14: The Processed Cheese Savior
Chapter 14: The Processed Cheese Savior
Chapter 15: Barbie's Aging, Eckert's Making Excuses, and The Bratz Pack is Booming
Chapter 16: Toy Terror 2007
Chapter 17: An Outrageous Apology
Chapter 18: "Like Something Out Of The Exorcist"
Chapter 19: Keep It Out Of The News!
Chapter 20: Don't Diss Barbie, and the Toy Trial of the Century - Bratz vs. Barbie
Author's Notes on Sources
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Autoren-Porträt von Jerry Oppenheimer
Jerry Oppenheimer has written eight biographies of major American icons, from Martha Stewart and Barbara Walters to the Clintons and Kennedys, and has worked in all facets of journalism, from national investigative reporting in Washington, D.C., to producing TV news and documentaries. He's quoted in magazines such as Vanity Fair, and is a frequent guest on national TV interview and syndicated magazine shows, including Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Anderson Cooper 360, Nancy Grace, BBC News, Fox News, and more.
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Jerry Oppenheimer
- 2009, 1. Auflage, 304 Seiten, Maße: 15,7 x 23,5 cm, Gebunden, Englisch
- Verlag: Wiley & Sons
- ISBN-10: 0470371269
- ISBN-13: 9780470371268
- Erscheinungsdatum: 18.02.2009
Sprache:
Englisch
Rezension zu „Toy Monster “
"Jerry Oppenheimer, best known for mordant biographies like "Just Desserts" (about Martha Stewart) or "State of a Union" (on Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage), has now trained his sights on the world's biggest toy company -- its egos, scandals and flawed products. In his toyland, nothing is cute." (The Wall Street Journal)Oppenheimer (Just Desserts) takes a tour of Mattel's seamier side, highlighting its dubious corporate practices and kooky cast in this scathing portrait to be published to coincide with Barbie's 50th anniversary. Drawing on personal interviews and public sources, Oppenheimer paints a bleak picture of the peculiar practices of the adults running the toy company--including the "playboy" Jack Ryan, known as the "Father of Barbie" and rumored to be sexually obsessed with his creation, and Mattel cofounder and white-collar criminal Ruth Handler, who took credit for Barbie's invention. The author chronicles the "Doll Wars"--the fierce competition and eventual litigation between Mattel and the creators of the rival Bratz line, as well as 2007's "Black Friday the 13th," when potentially deadly magnets and lead paint in the company's most popular toys led to two massive recalls. Executive scapegoats and backpedaling resulted in public lashing from the media and intense public mistrust. Fast-paced and engaging, this exposé will absorb readers until the last page and will forever change the way they think about the company. (Mar.) (Publishers Weekly, January 26, 2009)
Pressezitat
"Jerry Oppenheimer, best known for mordant biographies like "Just Desserts" (about Martha Stewart) or "State of a Union" (on Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage), has now trained his sights on the world's biggest toy company -- its egos, scandals and flawed products. In his toyland, nothing is cute." (The Wall Street Journal)Oppenheimer (Just Desserts) takes a tour of Mattel's seamier side, highlighting its dubious corporate practices and kooky cast in this scathing portrait to be published to coincide with Barbie's 50th anniversary. Drawing on personal interviews and public sources, Oppenheimer paints a bleak picture of the peculiar practices of the adults running the toy company--including the "playboy" Jack Ryan, known as the "Father of Barbie" and rumored to be sexually obsessed with his creation, and Mattel cofounder and white-collar criminal Ruth Handler, who took credit for Barbie's invention. The author chronicles the "Doll Wars"--the fierce competition and eventual litigation between Mattel and the creators of the rival Bratz line, as well as 2007's "Black Friday the 13th," when potentially deadly magnets and lead paint in the company's most popular toys led to two massive recalls. Executive scapegoats and backpedaling resulted in public lashing from the media and intense public mistrust. Fast-paced and engaging, this exposé will absorb readers until the last page and will forever change the way they think about the company. (Mar.) (Publishers Weekly, January 26, 2009)
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