Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel

As a Barbie collector since 1959, I was quite surprised to read such a poorly researched book about Mattel. I had a very hard time finding any true statements about anything in this book. Mr. Oppenheimer should know that a good book depends on how good the background research is, and this book has none that I can find, other than some trivial personality traits of Jack Ryan, the man who patented the Barbie doll's design. Jack Ryan was a government engineer, who was totally into the space age, after WWII in the 1950's. Mattel needed a designing engineer, to design the actual toys they were creating, so Ryan was hired. Ryan designed the Barbie doll's body- a head, torso, legs and arms- an almost complete copy of a Bild Lilli doll from Germany, which Ruth Handler bought and brought back to Mattel. Ryan also made the talking mechanism for Chatty Cathy and the Vrroom motors for the Mattel bikes. Ryan was an engineer that made the Handler's ideas come to life. He did not come up with the ideas, he only three-dimensionalized them and owned his government patents. He received royalties, like any other artist for his designs.I was surprised to read in this book, that Ruth Handler started the story of how she came up with the Barbie doll, AFTER Ryan's death in 1991. If Mr. Oppenheimer had done any research at all, he would have found the most obvious History of Mattel, a book written by Ruth's husband and co-founder of Mattel, Elliot Handler. The book is titled The Impossible Really Is Possible-The Story Of Mattel and was written in the 1960's and printed in 1968. If Mr. Oppenheimer had read this history of Mattel, he would see the story of the Barbie dolls creation in print in 1968, and not made up after Ryan's death in 1991! Ryan tried and failed to sue Mattel for coming up with the idea of the Barbie doll. Ryan will always go down in history for being the engineer that copied the body of a Bild Lilli doll for the Barbie doll, and also for his other contributions to designing other parts of Mattel's toys, but that is the beginning and end of his contributions for Mattel. Ryan is no idea man, as Mr. Oppenheimer gives him credit for.As far as the Barbie doll, little girls in 1959, did not go crazy over the Barbie doll for her figure, as we already had Little Miss Revlon dolls with cute figures and smaller bust lines to play with. Barbie brought with her a wardrobe of clothes, like no other clothes that have been made before or since, that fit the many things she could do in a day. Charlotte Johnson did much more than Jack Ryan, as she actually did create and design the clothes that filled Barbie doll's closet. These clothes were meticulously hand made by Japanese seamstresses- even the pearl necklaces were hand strung. Ruth Handler's ideas made us love Barbie in 1959, the exact same way in which collectors love her today. Barbie was a 3 dimensional paperdoll with a meticulously sewn wardrobe that kept us busy during all our playtime hours. I hope Mr. Oppenheimer researches the past thoroughly before writing his next book, as things he thinks were "made up" in 1991, were actually in print in 1968! This way, the true story of Mattel will not have to be fabricated by a writer who doesn't have a clue because he didn't do his homework!

If you are interested in what Mattel is really like as a company and a place to work or if you are truly interested in how the toy business operates, do not bother reading this piece of high-priced trash.I was an employee of Mattel for eight plus years in the late 70's to the mid 80's and was eventually laid off (a euphemism for being fired) for being in the wrong place at the wrong time but I still value the years I worked there and do not share Oppenheimer's opinions about what a cruel environment it was to work in.I started out to mark every error and unsubstantiated allegation I saw in the book in light blue pencil but I was making so many marks, I was ruining the book. I also realized that if I was to point out all of Oppenheimer's mis-information in detail that my review would be longer then the book itself.He spends the first hundred or so pages trashing Ruth Handler and describing, in awe-struck terms, the sexual prowess of Jack Ryan, a gifted inventor but not the "Father of Barbie" as Oppenheimer claims. That is unless Ryan has an illegitimate daughter somewhere named Barbie.Many of his major sources are suspect in that they were fired by Mattel and in some cases spent years suing the Company for improper termination, which cases they all lost.He totally skips over the Ray Wagner, Glenn Hastings and John Ammerman years except in passing comments showing how callous they were. He never discusses how Mattel came back from the dead when the Electronics Division went bust and Glenn Hastings convinced the bankers that Mattel Toy Company was a viable business giving Art Spears, the Chairman, the time he needed to bring in new investors.On the other hand, he spends almost a third of the book on Jill Barad someone who was President for less than five years.A lot of his accusations are by implication and insinuation, hardly good journalism but then this book isn't journalism but a mostly unsubstantiated attack on Mattel.I can't imagine why anyone who wasn't personally acquainted with the people in the book would want to plow through Oppenheimer's turgid and tired prose. His constant refrain of "more about that later" and his whining about people who would not talk to him while implying they had something to hide grew very tiresome.Has Mattel and it's leaders screwed up from time to time? Of course. But as I watch major financial institutions and automobile companies crash taking the entire U.S. economy with them, I wonder why is Oppenheimer spending his time on a relatively small company that manufactures playthings?The answer, I suspect is because of the fact that toys, particularly Barbie, resonate culturally. After all, what this author is interested in is selling books, not presenting a balanced picture of the good and the bad in the organization. He is in a word, salacious, rather than reasonable because that will sell his product.I think it's instructive that the only positive blurbs on the dust cover are from C. David Heymann and Kitty Kelley, two other authors who would rather tear down than be objective.If you do want to read this book, save your money and wait a short while until you will be able to buy it at a much reduced price out of the remainder bins at your neighborhood bookstore.

Well, I was always a big fan of Mattel toys - mainly because of the creativity behind them. I remember the Hot Wheels as a kid - but my favorites were the Mattel M-16 machine gun, Fright Factory and the Herman Munster doll. The Strange Change machine was also very interesting. Anyhow, until now, the company was always shrouded in secrecy and the people who operated it. This is the first book that really goes into the people that made the company big. I had no idea about the creative genius that Jack Ryan had brought to the company. And you can certainly tell, that after Jack Ryan left the company, the creativity of the toys came to an end. Obviously the business talent of Ruth Handler was quite incredible and her husband also lended a hand to help Jack Ryan make toy dreams come true.I am not a past employee of Mattel, and I really don't know what is true, and what is not, but I find it an extremely fascinating read nevertheless. I can't put the book down - and I'm not even half way through, that I felt compelled to write a review on it. All I can say is that it's interesting to say the least.Nice job to the author to write about a company that once was shrouded in mystery.

I was in the Toy Business for over 40 years. Started with Matchbox Toys and worked in Hong Kong for many many years. Knew many at Mattel and had business acquintances and friends there. Very enjoyable book and, I felt, pretty accurate. The author knows his "Mattel and the business. Definitely made me glad I never worked for such a vicious political company (where right certainly wasn't might).