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  • Toy Monster

  • The Big, Bad World of Mattel
  • By: Jerry Oppenheimer
  • Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

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Toy Monster cover art

Toy Monster

By: Jerry Oppenheimer
Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
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Summary

An eye-popping, unauthorized exposé of the House of Barbie

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 have been a part of our culture for generations. Now, in this intriguing and entertaining exposé, New York Times best-selling 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 potential rivals such as Bratz.

  • Introduces you to the larger-than-life personalities that have shaped Mattel's eccentric world
  • Offers an inside look - from an experienced author - at the scandals that have been a part of this iconic company
  • Jerry Oppenheimer is also the author of Madoff with the Money, an in-depth look at Bernie Madoff the man and his billion dollar scam

Engaging and accessible, Toy Monster shows you why today's toy business isn't always fun and games.

©2009 Jerry Oppenheimer (P)2009 Tantor Audio

What listeners say about Toy Monster

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A fascinating listen

Came here after enjoying the Madoff book from Oppenheimer and found this very interesting. Didn’t know anything about the history of the ubiquitous Barbie of my childhood. A fascinating bit of history that seems so very dated in todays world. I recommend it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Toy monster

Correct heading for this book. Brilliant listen. Didn’t know any of this went on in Mattel.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Grating at times, potentially very biased

I don't know much about the story of Mattel and Barbie so this was interesting. However the writing got on my nerves by attempting to ram home the point that Jack Ryan is the real creator of Barbie by continously referring to him as "the father of Barbie." This made me suspect that this is biased and not the full, objective story.

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