Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them
Author: G. Wayne Miller
List Price: $12.95
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ISBN: 158062104X
Publisher: Adams Media Corporation (January, 1999)
Sales Rank: 142,345
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Toy Industry is changing
Unbelievable how a group of businessmen have changed the way kids pretend play. The process of decision making in this industry is so elementary but yet so critical in shaping our childrens memories, desires, passions, and shaping their past time. This book brought me into a world that I no longer think is just fun and games. I like that Miller gives a broad insight to the industry. At first I felt the personalities of the key players wre being told in too much detail. Now I see that it is these personalities that rule and are changing play time forever. A great book for parents and educators. I do not feel there are many business lessons to learn here as I have seen in other profiles. I completed the book with a true feel for this important industry and that was my goal. Mostly Miller writes a story about Hasbro, family and product ups and downs.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Toy Story
A well written book that makes for very interesting reading. It is the story of Hasbro and the events that unfold around it. Since the author had a good access to the Hasbro team, he has been able to write up about Hasbro executives in great detail. Competitiors, esp. Mattel get seen through Hasbro eye's and hence maybe make for a one sided perspective.
The book talks well about how toy brands have evolved from simple objects to complex products involving Hollywood, comics, cereals, mega blitz promotions and the like. It offers a good understanding of how the toy business is not a childs play any longer.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Good but Pro-Hasbro
The book gives an excellent history of both companies - Mattel and Hasbro, but devotes more time to Hasbro and seems to favor Hasbro as the sentimental, fun bunch while Mattel is the coldly calculating toy monolith. While this may be true to some extent (I don't know), it may be a little too strong in the book.My favorite part of this book was the description of the history behind specific brands such as GI Joe, Mr. Potato Head, Barbie, etc. It's amazing how these brands have been developed and remain strong.
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