On a serendipitous trip through the stacks, I came across the story of Barbie doll creator and Mattel founder, Ruth Matzo Handler.  Ruth was a child born to Jewish immigrants whose sheer will and determination rose her to the top of a man’s world at a time when a woman’s role was mainly homemaker and mother.   She was an innately talented businesswoman  who knew no boundaries. If something seemed impossible, she found a way to make it possible; adversity made her stronger. Barbie was her brainchild but, initially, it was a flop.  Barbie’s implications with negative body type in young women was not an issue in the 50’s, but an adult doll (with those breasts!) was not what mother’s wanted for their daughters.   Yet Ruth persevered because she had seen her own daughter play with paper dolls pretending to be an adult, so she knew there was a market, and history proves that she was right!

Ruth was not without flaws.  She had an ego and thought that rules did not apply to her and this is what makes her story so fascinating; her success and pride, failure and humiliation, all leading to her ultimate redemption. This is a great story about a remarkable woman.

Review by K. Chin