A THOROUGHLY GROWN-UP LOOK AT A TWENTIETH-CENTURY MUSE OF OUTSTANDING PROPORTIONS To some she's a collectible, to others she's trash. In The Barbie Chronicles, twenty-three writers join together to scrutinize Barbie's forty years of hateful, lovely disastrous, glorious influence on us all. 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. Whether you adore her or abhor her, The Barbie Chronicles will have you looking at her in ways you never imagined.

"This is an academic look at the contribution of popular culture to the loss if innocence in today's children."--Publisher.

Barbie Forever: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy presents a detailed, fully authorized portrait of this beloved doll through all-new interviews, original sketches, vintage photos, advertisements, and much more—including a foreword by Olympic fencing medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad. A double-sided foldout timeline showcases important moments in Barbie history. Explore how the doll came to be, what it takes to create one of her many looks, and how her legacy continues to influence the world. Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has been breaking boundaries and highlighting major moments in art, fashion, and culture. She has been an interpreter of taste and style in every historic period she has lived through and has reflected female empowerment through the more than 200 careers she has embodied. Today, an international icon, Barbie continues to spark imaginations and influence conversations around the world. Barbie Forever is a vibrant celebration for the "Barbie Girl" in all of us.

Take an enthralling and richly illustrated trip through the official real-world story of the Barbie™ doll—from groundbreaking toy to beacon of female empowerment. Created in partnership with Mattel to celebrate Barbie doll’s 65th anniversary and featuring rare images from their archives, Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy is a stunning tribute to the beloved pop culture icon that has echoed the taste, style, and events of every decade she has experienced. Recall the joy of opening a brand-new Barbie box with this sumptuously designed book chronicling every step in the beloved doll’s journey, from entrepreneurial pioneer Ruth Handler’s creation of Barbie in 1959 to the record-breaking film in 2023, and beyond, including: The Birth of Barbie – Learn how Ruth Handler came up with the idea of a doll that allowed little girls to play at being women, then overcame a parade of challenges—including disbelief from her male colleagues that mothers would buy their daughters an adult doll with full-grown breasts—and persevered to create the wildly successful Barbie doll and prove her doubters wrong. Breaking Boundaries – Follow the path that Barbie took from teenage fashion model to over 200 different careers, including trailblazing roles like astronaut in 1965, beating the first American woman, Sally Ride, into space by nearly 20 years, to surgeon in 1973, at a time when the total number of women physicians in the US was around 5 percent, to other male-dominated roles like Marine Corps sergeant, a business executive, and President of the United States. Reflecting Diversity – See how a doll that started with a choice of either blonde or brunette hair now boasts 35 skin tones, 97 hair styles, and 9 body types, with those numbers growing each year. Barbie in Fashion and Art – Explore how the fashion and art worlds have influenced and been influenced by Barbie, from limited edition Barbie fashions from premiere designers like Christian Dior and Michael Kors to a portrait of Barbie by Andy Warhol. Barbie in Pop Culture – Discover all the ways that Barbie has influenced pop culture, from Barbie bloggers and collectors to how her movie smashed records as the highest-grossing domestic release in history, granting its female director, Greta Gerwig, the prize for the highest-grossing film directed by a woman. Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy reveals how Barbie is more than a toy—she is an ideal that lives forever, encouraging girls to persist through to become whatever they dream to be.

Some seven million people board the New York City subway every day, each one with a story to tell. The Subway Chronicles collects twenty-seven of the tales, dramas and comedies that unfold during the daily commute. From the “mole people” living in the subway tunnels, to the transit employees working behind the scenes, to the locals and tourists riding shoulder-to-shoulder in harmony, discord, or indifference, The Subway Chronicles offers a kaleidoscope of perspectives on this most public of spaces. Prominent New York writers weigh in: Jonathan Lethem confesses his childhood subway sins Colson Whitehead offers mass-transit tips for newcomers to the city Francine Prose recalls the thrill and apprehension of riding alone as a teenage girl Calvin Trillin pokes fun at the classic New York tendency to be skeptical about everything Stan Fischler delights in memories of riding the open-air train cars to Coney Island as a boy Equal parts hilarious, poignant, and heartbreaking, The Subway Chronicles is a journey into New York’s underground with some of today’s most loved writers.

In this folkloric examination of mass-produced material culture in the United States, Jeannie Banks Thomas examines the gendered sculptural forms that are among the most visible, including Barbie, Ken, and G.I. Joe dolls; yard figures (gnomes, geese, and flamingos); and cemetery statuary (angels, sports-related images, figures of the Virgin Mary, soldiers, and politicians). Images of females are often emphasized or sexualized, frequently through nudity or partial nudity, whereas those of the male body are not only clothed but also armored in the trappings of action and aggression. Thomas locates these various objects of folk art within a discussion of the post-women's movement discourse on gender. In addition to the items themselves, Thomas explores the stories and behaviors they generate, including legends of the supernatural about cemetery statues, oral narratives of yard artists and accounts of pranks involving yard art, narratives about children's play with Barbie, Ken, and G.I. Joe, and the electronic folklore (or "e-lore") about Barbie that circulates on the Internet.