This guide to the history of Barbie tells the story of how Ruth Handler created this doll, covers the ups and downs of its early marketing and sales, reflects on Barbie's cultural influence, and highlights the brand's current product lines and social messages. There's a lot of great information in this book, but the small font size and formatting make it difficult to read, which is part of why I'm not giving this a higher rating.

The book includes engaging historical photos, pictures of some Barbie products throughout the decades, and contemporary photos. This will be a fun coffee table book for fans and collectors. It can also appeal to people who aren't specifically interested in Barbie, but who are invested in vintage toy history. The book includes details about other toys that Mattel was known for, and compares Barbie to other, much less revolutionary products that were on the market for girls at the time. This book also includes lots of interesting details about mid-century history, advertising, and consumer culture.

This is mainly a puff piece about Barbie, and there's not a lot of deeper analysis. When the book mentions people having misgivings and critiques about Barbie, the implication is that only clueless men would question her. There's no acknowledgement that the men at Mattel were sometimes right, and that there were many women who didn't want to buy their daughters an adult doll with an adult figure. Many women and girls have objected to Barbie for a variety of reasons, from many different social and political perspectives, and there's no acknowledgement of that here. The book makes it sound like the only naysayers were men, and it doesn't address legitimate social controversies about Barbie.

I would mainly recommend this book to Barbie fans who don't know much about her. If someone has already done a deep dive into this doll's history, they won't find a lot of new information here, and if someone isn't a Barbie fan, the book will lack the more thoughtful analysis they're looking for. Nonetheless, this is a fun, colorful celebration of Barbie that will appeal to people who love this nostalgic toy and cultural icon.

This one is hard to rate as it’s like a coffee table book. But, if you’re interested in reading more about the history of Barbie, Mattel, and the creators behind the iconic toy, this is a fun place to start!

I would absolutely say invest in the physical copy since any ebook or kindle version won’t really be the ideal format to read this. But I had so much fun reading about the different types of Barbie, toys Mattel had, and how it all came to be. Margot Robbie would be happy if she inspired yall to read about Barbie history! 🥳🥳

3.75 starts rounded up to 4, mainly because I wanted more. But I am thankful for the intro and happy I started here!

An amazingly comprehensive look into Barbie's world. This doesn't give just the basic facts that we all know and love about Barbie, but delves deeper into how the dolls are made, her timeline from creation to today's dolls, their worldwide success, and the magic that is Barbie. this book shares exclusive photos of the different Barbie dolls, outfits, and illustrations of the doll's dimensions, making it a must read for fans and collectors.

This book is wonderful if you want to know more about the history of Barbie with tons of beautiful photos. If you liked the movie, or are a Barbie fan, this book is for you!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review

I truly enjoyed this both beautiful and informative book. Like many, I played with Barbies as a kid and enjoyed the movie last summer thoroughly, as much as I enjoyed the discourse and nostalgia that came along with it. I had seen some articles about Margot Robbie's style choices on the red carpets, so it was nice to see that all in one place. This book was really interesting, fun, and would be a great coffee table book for any millennial looking to celebrate their youth and irritate right-wing relatives with their decor.

A beautiful collection of the history of the iconic doll from humble beginnings to a worldwide movie star. A must for all fans!

Review of "Barbie" by Robin Gerber

Ohmygosh, I just love seeing all the photographs and reading about Barbie and the story behind the world-famous doll. I've loved Barbie since I was a little girl. I'd spend hours and hours playing with my many Barbies, varying from Ballerina Barbies to equestrian Barbies and so many more. Life really was all about Barbie when I was a little girl.

This book gives you all the insights in the history of Barbie and provides the most beautiful photographs. I really think this is a book I'd LOVE to have as a coffee-table book. Perfect to go through every now and then, even if it's just to find the little girl in yourself.

I really recommend this one, it's amazing. I'm super thrilled that I can still read this book for more than 30 days. I'll definitely go back to look at pictures again or read some of the stories again.

This book is a super interesting dive into all things Barbie - from her inception by creator Ruth Handler, and her fight to get her onto shelves, all the way up to the recent Barbie box office hit.

Outside of watching the 2023 movie, and playing with my own Barbie dolls in the late 90s to early 00s, I didn’t have too much knowledge about the the popular doll, so this was a really interesting overview into her development over the years! The book also looks into designers who’ve worked with Barbie over the years, special dolls they’ve made of prominent people, and the continuous work to ensure Barbie keeps up its message - that you can be, and do, anything, and that every little girl (or boy!) can see themselves reflected in the doll.

The book is beautifully laid out, with a mixture of photos of interesting noteworthy dolls from throughout Barbies sixty-five year long history, and photos of notable people and events, such as Ruth Handler, and pictures taken at the Barbie fan club, and fashion events.

I think it really captures the essence of the doll, and it makes a fun and interesting read for anyone with any curiosity about the doll and her history!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and dust off the Barbie dolls I know are still sitting under my bed…

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

This is a fun introduction to the history of Barbie. The many photos make this an easy and wonderfully visual read!

I personally would have enjoyed some more insight into Barbie as a concept, and the criticisms that have come with her, and body image for example. More discussion of other Barbie pop culture such as the animated movies would have also been very enjoyable for me. However, this book is primarily focused on the Barbie doll, which is understandable.

A nice informative read for anyone who wants a good basis on how Barbie came to be, and has changed over time.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC

3.5 stars

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy is a handbook filled with information from how Barbie was created and made, the designs, the fashions and styles, and everything you could think of in-between.
I loved the photography included and would love to see it in the physical version when it is released, as it was quite hard to zoom in and see the whole thing on my phone.
This would make a great book to use in a classroom for discussions and research and anyone who picks it up and enjoys Barbie will be fascinated with the pictures taken and included through the history and years of Barbie from the start to the present day.
Definitely a book for any Barbie fans!

Firstly thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and Robin Gerber for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest and impartial review.

Secondly, I actually really quite enjoyed this! This book told the history of Barbie in a way that was informative and interesting and not aimed at the die hard fans. I loved getting to see the variety of Barbie’s that have come out and the thinking behind them. The thing which would have made this, would have been a catalogue of all the Barbie’s released year by year as a way to see them.

A great history to read.

A great look into the iconic doll and her long history including the changes made to her throughout the years,the significance she has on the toy industry as a whole along with the kids she inspired, fashion and media : this is the ultimate love letter to the doll that has remained a symbol to the childhood of so many little girls and I'd HIGHLY recommend.

Loved this book, it was really well researched and I learned a lot. I loved all the photos and getting to know more about Ruth. I loved the timeline at the end. Thanks NetGallery!

Ruth Handler saw her daughter and friends playing with paper dolls of grown women and wondered why they couldn’t have actual dolls. She designed Barbie against everyone’s advice. What mother would allow her daughter to play with a doll with a grownup figure?
Mattel toys placed TV commercials on The Mickey Mouse Club and sales took off. The story of creating all of Barbie’s tiny garments in Japan is amazing. Barbie has always been ahead of the times, breaking new ground for women. She’s been an astronaut, surgeon, everything. Barbie’s motto is See It/Be It.
Her creator thought Barbie would sell for three or four years. Barbie is now 65.

Obviously the timing is perfect for a book about Barbie. I was expecting mostly photographs but was surprised at the amount of information provided on the creation of Barbie. I was unaware of the challenges Ruth Handler faced in creating and marketing Barbie. I loved the chapter of early Barbie creations as I have 1960’s Barbie, Skipper and Ken stored in my basement. Unfortunately, I loved and played with them a lot, as did my daughter so they aren’t going to be collectables. The book continues with Barbie breaking boundaries, reflecting diversity and Barbie in fashion, art and pop culture. I learned a lot about a favorite icon.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group for the temporary ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary review.

Robin Gerber’s “BARBIE: Her Inspiration, History and Legacy” is a cute reference guide of the history of Mattel and Barbie. I loved reading about her story and evolution and the pictures were a fantastic addition to an otherwise fascinating book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.

Disclosure: I received an advance review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Now I know that Barbie doesn’t really have anything to do with classic rock, but I really enjoyed the Barbie movie and when I saw there was a coffee table book coming out about Barbie available to review, I jumped on it, especially with Women’s History Month happening now and this year being the 65th anniversary of Barbie. If you’re a Gen X, Millennial, or Gen Z, you’ve never lived in a world without Barbie. How awesome is that! With it being International Women’s Day today, I think it’s the perfect day to publish this book review.

I remember when I was younger, Barbie was seen as one of the worst things for women’s rights because she’s skinny, pretty, and blonde. Even in university, I’d see pop feminist graphics that scaled up a Barbie doll and show how unrealistic her proportions are and how that’s bad for women’s self esteem or whatever. People see her as perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and setting women’s liberation back by decades. This is all a complete misrepresentation of Barbie and we saw that myth dispelled in Greta Gerwig’s film last year. All the women in Barbie Land were Barbie. Barbie is Black, Barbie is Asian, Barbie is Hispanic, Barbie is a doctor, writer, lawyer, judge, president, astronaut, any job out there you can think of! Before Barbie, all the dolls girls would play with were babies and girls would pretend to be mothers, but the introduction of Barbie was a game changer because she’s a grown woman with her own job, no kids, and she’s not married. Nope, Ken is not her husband! Barbie is her own person and she shows that girls can be anything, a very important message during the second wave feminism years of the mid 20th century.

Robin Gerber previously wrote a biography about Barbie’s creator Ruth Handler called Barbie and Ruth and now she’s back with this coffee table book celebrating 65 years of Barbie from its humble beginnings in the 50s with Ruth and Elliot Handler starting a toy company with their friend Harold Matson (Mattel is a portmanteau of Matson and Elliot) to it becoming an ever-evolving cultural phenomenon and more than just a doll.

This book shows how much of an entrepreneur Ruth Handler was. She was calling the shots and coming up with the creative ideas. Early on Mattel made music and cowboy themed toys, but these were nothing compared to Barbie. Before Barbie, girls could play pretend with paper dolls with interchangeable outfits, but she wanted to take that concept from 2D to 3D, a doll would take that to the next level. During the postwar years there was a lot of prosperity so people had more disposable income to spend on things like toys for their kids and finally you had the concept of teenagers – they’re not quite kids, but they’re also not fully grown adults. While Ruth Handler had a lot of confidence in her idea and believed it would succeed, the men at Mattel thought that no parent would buy their daughters a dolls with a fully developed figure. However, during a trip to Europe she saw the German Lilli doll and knew her idea had potential. A lot of work went into designing and manufacturing Barbie and her accessories. It was truly an international effort, as the doll was originally manufactured in Japan and Handler hired a renowned Austrian psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Richter to market Barbie as something aspirational. Finally in 1959, the first Barbie was introduced with her blonde hair in a ponytail, her fringe curly and short, and wearing that iconic black and white striped swimsuit, as modelled by Margot Robbie in the 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired opening scene of Barbie.

Surprisingly Barbie wasn’t a hit straight away and at the Toy Fair in New York, many buyers turned their noses up, but things changed within a couple months and dolls were flying off the shelves and Mattel couldn’t keep up with demand. It took them three years to catch up with the backlog of orders. Ruth Handler expected it to be a fad, but instead it became a cultural phenomenon with a fan club starting in the 60s and the Barbie universe expanding with more characters like Ken, Skipper, Midge, and Christie and more career and sport themed outfits thanks to customer feedback. They even made a Twiggy Barbie – the very first celebrity Barbie! Within a decade of launch, Ruth Handler became a millionaire. Decades later, Barbie became more diverse with celebrities becoming Barbies, like Zendaya, Chloe Kim, Misty Copeland, and Ava DuVernay. Historical figures too! Like Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, and Katherine Johnson. Barbie also reached out to fashion houses like Oscar De La Renta, YSL, Versace, Dior, Bob Mackie, Moschino, and Christian Louboutin for collaborations and some of their designs were made miniature for Barbie and more accessible to the masses, now everyone can have a piece of designer clothing. Andy Warhol even painted a portrait of Barbie, which his friend BillyBoy* sold for over $1.1 million. Barbie has ended up in museums like the Louvre and is a whole franchise with computer games, publications, books, all sorts of media all about her. Growing up I loved playing the Barbie hair styling computer game, even though I was a bit of a tomboy.

There are lots of beautiful vintage pictures and as a vintage fashion nerd, I love it! If you’re a fan of the Barbie movie and want to know more about the history, it’s a great read. It’s the perfect book for any Barbie enthusiast and if you love the mid 20th century, the aesthetic of the photos is heavenly. So much behind the scenes information on Barbie like the marketing and business side of things and the manufacturing and history of dolls. This book isn’t just beauty, there’s brains behind it too. There are many valuable marketing lessons to be learnt from Barbie. There’s so much more to Barbie than you think!

What a delightful little book! An excellent, to-the-point basic examination of the history of Barbie that would be a terrific foundation for anyone looking to learn more about the iconic doll and her visionary creator, Ruth Handler. (Even better, there are so many gorgeous, full-color pictures of the doll and her world to fawn over!) This was really a lot of fun to read, and makes me even more glad that I have Gerber's other book, "Barbie and Ruth," waiting for me on my pile of books at home - because if this book has any fault, it's that it leaves me wanting so much more!

This book was a great introduction to the history and legacy both Mattel and Barbie have had on the world. I learned so many things about every stage of Barbie’s history and how it came to be the empire it is today! Very good and interesting read if you are curious to know about Barbie and Mattel, and how they beat the odds of toy making. It doesn’t mention it in the book, but since the Barbie dream house paint line released- which this book now has me wanting!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Robin Gerber for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchange for my honest review

Barbie has been everywhere the past year which has led to a bunch of great opportunities to introduce fans old and new to the story behind the iconic doll.

Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy has been newly updated to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the brand, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Ruth Handler developed the doll, as well as how the doll has developed over time to become more inclusive.

This is a great primer for anyone that’s interested in learning about how Barbie came to be and all of the iterations of the doll that are out there. And while it’s a great introduction, those who have more background with the doll might find that there isn’t much new information.

All in all, it’s a quick and interesting read that’s perfect prep for Oscar season!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.