Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel

Part One: The Barbie War and the Handler-Ryan Era 1

Chapter 1: Barbie’s Untold Heritage 3

Chapter 2: A Shocking Cover-Up 13

Chapter 3: From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Barbie, and the Knocking Off of a German Doll 19

Chapter 4: Putting the “Matt” in Mattel, and How the Toymaker Became a Hotbed of Aggressive Hotheads 37

Chapter 5: Real-Life Barbie Dolls 51

Chapter 6: Horrific Scandal, Controversy, and Indictments 65

Chapter 7: A Civil War and a Hollywood Romance 81

Chapter 8: A Bloody Tragic Ending 89

Part Two: A Drama Princess and the Barad Era 103

Chapter 9: “Miss Italian America” 105

Chapter 10: From “He-Man” to Home Depot 121

Chapter 11: A Fearsome and Firing Diva and the Great Whistleblower Debacle 135

Chapter 12: The Princess Diana Fiasco, Praying for Success, and Demi Plays Barad 147

Chapter 13: Another Whistleblower in the Ranks, Toyland’s Worst Acquisition, and the End of a Reign 161

Part Three: Toy Terror, the Bratz Attack, and the Eckert Era 181

Chapter 14: The Processed Cheese Savior 183

Chapter 15: Barbie’s Aging, Eckert’s Making Excuses, and the Bratz Pack is Booming 193

Chapter 16: Toy Terror 2007 201

Chapter 17: An Outrageous Apology 213

Chapter 18: “Like Something Out of The Exorcist” 227

Chapter 19: Keep It Out of the News! 235

Chapter 20: Don’t Diss Barbie, and the Toy Trial of the Century: Bratz vs. Barbie 247

Author’s Note on Sources 265

Selected Bibliography 267

Acknowledgments 269

Index 273