With a New Introduction by the Author

“Scathing, hilarious, consistently informative and amusing.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Since Barbie’s introduction in 1959, her impact on baby boomers has been revolutionary. Far from a toy designed by men to enslave women, she was a toy invented by women for women to teach them what—for better or worse—was expected of them. In telling Barbie’s fascinating story, cultural critic and investigative journalist M. G. Lord, herself a first-generation Barbie owner, has written a provocative, zany, occasionally shocking book that will change how you look at the doll and the world.

M. G. Lord is an author and critic. Since 1995 she has been a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review and The New York Times Arts & Leisure section. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including ARTNews, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and The New Yorker. Currently, she is completing a family memoir about aerospace culture during the Cold War, which will be published in 2004 by Walker & Company. She lives in Los Angeles.

“Fascinating…compelling…a seriously wry, thoroughly researched and totally enlightened look at the doll that most of us either love or love to hate.” —Newsday “It’s hard to deny Barbie’s impact…Lord shrewdly uses the evolution of Barbie as a touchstone to chart the evolution of our modern culture.” —People “Its mix of social history, psychoanalytical insights, and the Mattel marketing schemes that evoke them is told with wit, curiosity, and wry photos.” —Los Angeles Times “Terrific…a book that was dying to be written…a crisp, often witty love story of American pop culture.” —Boston Globe “The author’s enthusiasm is infectious and she writes with considerable wit…Her subject inspires passion.” —The New York Times