The Barbie Chronicles - by Yona Zeldis McDonough (Paperback)

About the Book

On the occasion of her 40th birthday, the complete story of Barbie, featuring an inspired collection of essays by Jane Smiley, Erica Jong, Anna Quindlen, Carol Shields, Meg Wolitzer, and a host of other Barbie-watchers. 8-page photo insert.

Book Synopsis

A fascinating and poignant collection of twenty essays and five poems exploring Barbie's forty years of hateful, lovely, disastrous, glorious influence on us all from award-winning authors such as Jane Smiley, Meg Wolitzer, and Carol Shields.

To some she's a collectible, to others she's trash. Since her creation in 1959 by Ruth Handler, Barbie has become a worldwide icon and an extremely divisive topic. To some she represents an inspiration to young girls, to others she has only wreaked havoc on feminist progress. No other tiny shoulders have ever had to carry the weight of such affection and derision, and no other book has ever paid this notorious little place of plastic her due.

The twenty-three authors who contributed to this book--including Meg Wolitzer, Jane Smiley, Carol Shields, Anna Quindlen, and Ann duCille--explore how Barbie has affected their lives, and delve into the numerous controversies Barbie has faced over past decades and the complex issues of race and conformity in the toy industry.

Whether you adore her or abhor her, The Barbie Chronicles will have you looking at her in ways you never imagined.

Review Quotes

Albert Mobilio winner of The National Book Critics Circle Award for Excellence in Reviewing Equal parts celebration, confession, and investigation, The Barbie Chronicles takes shrewd measure of just how much we are what we buy.

Caroline Preston author of Jackie by Josie From the spring day in 1959 when I dumped my Ginny doll for the new flashy babe on the block, I have adored Barbie. When she was finally exposed as a sexist stereotype, my adoration, undiminished, went underground. The Barbie Chronicles celebrates our complex forty-year love/hate relationship toward the world's most irresistible doll.

Faye Moskowitz author of A Leak in the Heart Whatever your position on the world's most persistent posable piece of plastic, you'll find much to intrigue you in this provocative collection that examines Barbie from all angles -- with perspicacity and panache.

Hilton Als author of The Women The pieces and poems in this book so rich in insight and wit, mean so much -- to cultural and political studies, to the life of the mind, to those who have given thought of affection to this strange and strangely alluring figure which, despite her initial docility, refuses to remain seated on anyone's shelf.