Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel by Jerry Oppenheimer

The author of this book clearly is not very fond of the toy company Mattel, nor the larger than life personalities that have run it over the course of its history so far.

Though looking at a list of the other books that he has written, which I only did after finishing the book, it is clear that his stock in trade when it comes to writing is focusing on the drama of the people associated to dramatic events and scandal linked to celebrity and business. He has written books on Martha Stuart, Rock Hudson and the Hiltons (and has a book about Bernie Maddoff coming out in late 2009).

His story of the history of Mattel is a bit one sided, but it made for entertaining and interesting reading despite this. As long as you take that into account. It would be a less provocative and grabbing narrative if it was more balanced.

The book is structured to take you through a series of major stages in the history of Mattel, each of which he associates and focuses on the personalities involved at that time. Closely linking that individuals personality and faults to the peaks and troughs of the volatile fortunes of the company. This focus on the people makes it more of a soap opera than a real business analysis of the brand and company. So although you learn about the company, you do not really get a deep understanding of the company and brands themselves.

He spends time in the book on the battles (personal and business life) with the “father of Barbie” and then with the couple who started Mattel. Then he moves onto the dealings that ended up driving out the woman who created Mattel and the criminal charges that involved. It covers the loud and over confident CEO who was finally driven out by her poor acquisitions, through to the CEO who oversaw the company during the toy recalls related to lead paint from toys made in China and magnets being ingested by children.

Overall I found the book enjoyable although it was closer to a “holiday book” read in style and content. But good entertainment. It made me curious to see how he has skewered other people in his books. I may just buy one to find out.

The other thing that I thought was interesting from a "brand"/ "marketing" side was that the author (Jerry Oppenheimer) has been a good marketer as he has created this brand as you expect when you see or get one of his books that he will tell a soap opera style story about a personality from the world of business. Very clear!

To buy the book on Amazon: