Barbie

Celebrate the sixty-fifth anniversary of Barbie in a book dedicated to the fascinating history of the world’s most popular doll. Created by Mattel founder Ruth Handler, a game-changing feminist visionary, Barbie defied the conventions of the 1950s, establishing a role for women other than a wife and mother. With an identity outside of her family, Barbie represented an astounding modern departure, opening the imagination for what a doll—and a woman—could be. Decade by decade, the title comprehensively explores the Barbie doll’s evolution from 1959 to today with fascinating facts, insights and never-before-seen imagery. 

From Marilyn Monroe to Margot Robbie, fashion designers to first responders, Barbie is the essential primer of an American phenomenon. Today, more than a billion Barbie dolls with over 250 careers have been purchased worldwide, offered in an array of different nationalities, ethnicities, and body types. In these pages, readers will discover not only Barbie’s rich history but her singular magic: She is a doll through whom girls can project their own fantasies, whether it be doctor, rock star, paleontologist, Olympic gold medalist, Major League Baseball player, virologist, or ecologist.