{"product_id":"toy-monster-isbn-9780470371268","title":"Toy Monster","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn eye-popping, unauthorized expos? of the House of Barbie\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom 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?, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on exclusive interviews and an exhaustive review of public and private records, \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e 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 potential rivals such as Bratz.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eIntroduces you to the larger-than-life personalities that have shaped Mattel's eccentric world\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eOffers an inside look- from an experienced author-at the scandals that have been a part of this iconic company\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eJerry Oppenheimer is also the author of \u003ci\u003eMadoff with the Money\u003c\/i\u003e, an in-depth look at Bernie Madoff the man and his billion dollar scam\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eEngaging and accessible, \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart One: The Barbie War and the Handler-Ryan Era 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 1: Barbie’s Untold Heritage 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 2: A Shocking Cover-Up 13\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 3: From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Barbie, and the Knocking Off of a German Doll 19\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 4: Putting the “Matt” in Mattel, and How the Toymaker Became a Hotbed of Aggressive Hotheads 37\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 5: Real-Life Barbie Dolls 51\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 6: Horrific Scandal, Controversy, and Indictments 65\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 7: A Civil War and a Hollywood Romance 81\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 8: A Bloody Tragic Ending 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Two: A Drama Princess and the Barad Era 103\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 9: “Miss Italian America” 105\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 10: From “He-Man” to Home Depot 121\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 11: A Fearsome and Firing Diva and the Great Whistleblower Debacle 135\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 12: The Princess Diana Fiasco, Praying for Success, and Demi Plays Barad 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 13: Another Whistleblower in the Ranks, Toyland’s Worst Acquisition, and the End of a Reign 161\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Three: Toy Terror, the Bratz Attack, and the Eckert Era 181\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 14: The Processed Cheese Savior 183\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 15: Barbie’s Aging, Eckert’s Making Excuses, and the Bratz Pack is Booming 193\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 16: Toy Terror 2007 201\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 17: An Outrageous Apology 213\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 18: “Like Something Out of \u003ci\u003eThe Exorcist\u003c\/i\u003e” 227\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 19: Keep It Out of the News! 235\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 20: Don’t Diss Barbie, and the Toy Trial of the Century: \u003ci\u003eBratz vs. Barbie \u003c\/i\u003e247\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthor’s Note on Sources 265\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelected Bibliography 267\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments 269\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 273\u003c\/p\u003e  \"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.\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e)  \u003cp\u003eOppenheimer (\u003ci\u003eJust Desserts\u003c\/i\u003e) 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. \u003ci\u003e(Mar.)\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, January 26, 2009)\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJERRY OPPENHEIMER\u003c\/b\u003e 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 re-porting in Washington, D.C., to producing TV news and documentaries. He's quoted in magazines such as \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e, and is a frequent guest on national TV interview and syndicated magazine shows, including \u003ci\u003eGood Morning America\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Tonight\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eExtra\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAnderson Cooper 360°\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNancy Grace\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBBC News, Fox News,\u003c\/i\u003e and 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—Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Chatty Cathy, to name a few—have been a part of our culture for generations.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, in this intriguing and entertaining exposé, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on exclusive interviews and an exhaustive review of public and private records, \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBut this is only part of the story. Along the way, you'll also become familiar with the larger-than-life personalities who 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe 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. \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e takes you inside the many scandals that have been a part of this company, and shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eFrom 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, in this intriguing and entertaining exposé, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on exclusive interviews and an exhaustive review of public and private records, \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut this is only part of the story. Along the way, you'll also become familiar with the larger-than-life personalities who 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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. \u003ci\u003eToy Monster\u003c\/i\u003e takes you inside the many scandals that have been a part of this company, and shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990399959269,"sku":"NP9780470371268","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470371268.jpg?v=1761787675","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/toy-monster-isbn-9780470371268","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}