Barbie: Her Life & Times

by Billy Boy

BillyBoy, owner of the world's largest Barbie doll collection (20,000 dolls and counting), charts the history of this protean American dream girl in a good-humored and affectionate retrospective. Illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Biography Memoir, Photography

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 1987

Reviews

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the development of Barbie from the doll's origins in the late 50s up to the 1980s when the book was published. I found it quite uneven however. The first chapters which explain that a lot of the outfits were influenced by European high fashion were very interesting - the Barbie clothing designers attended Paris fashion shows and certain outfits can be seen to be directly inspired. But as the book went on, it became a bit more waffly and more of a name check of certain outfits, with subjects being brought in abruptly - for instance, when talking about sports outfits in the 1970s, the author suddenly starts discussing the earlier 1960s ones making the whole thing a bit disjointed.

The 1980s section is very superficial, and the whole last part of the book is taken up with a lot of photos of an international fashion exhibition which the author was directly involved in organising - quite interesting but not really 'canon' and I felt it unbalanced the book. So not really a comprehensive or thorough history although there were some interesting snippets of information and some nice photos of the dolls and a few outfits. On balance therefore I would rate this at 3 stars.

[Bucletina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo tengo desde muy chiquita, regalo de mi tío. Me despierta mucho cariño y una infinita nostalgia. Espero releerlo pronto, con los ojos del presente.

[Thomas Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly interesting. Also a great point scorer for a granddad of granddaughters! Lots of beautiful Barbie pictures for them now, and lots of interesting text for them in a few years.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed description of Barbie fashion development from the beginning to the 1980s with a focus on designer contributions from around the world.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting Barbie: Her Life & Times to go this hard, but Billy Boy systematically dismantles the cozy illusion that obedience guarantees safety.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Billy Boy maps out in Barbie: Her Life & Times how compliance is quietly built into everyday routines until people don't even realize they've handed over the keys.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! The author obviously has a passion for what he is writing about as he takes you through the life and times of Barbie from inspiration, to her arrival on the scene and her evolving image throughout the years. It's filled with full color photos which (although I don't know much about fashion) are described down to the the smallest details. I learned a lot of things about Barbie (and all her friends and relatives and careers) that I didn't know and it was fun observing how both fashion and Barbie has changed so much. The final 3/4s of the book is a showcase of famous designer's creative looks for Barbie.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book for years. I bought it during my days as a Barbie collector...many, many years ago!
It is written by an over-the-top Barbie collector and tells about the history of Barbie. It has tons of cool illustrations and is interesting to anyone who wants to see how the Barbie of today came to be!

[Fangirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking through this book every now and again brings back memories of my youth and the dolls I used to own and love.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but I felt the author didn't do enough research. He kept saying "probably", "suppose", and "most likely". Never really definite on the information he was bringing across.

[Anna Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Who knew? Wish I still had my Barbies.