Face of the American Dream, Barbie Doll 1959-1971: Barbie Doll 1959-1971

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Summary: Great insights!
Review: This is a wonderful book, well written and very interesting to those of us who love Barbie. I would recommend it to all. The author has great insights and seems like a really nice person!

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Summary: If you can only have one Barbie book - make it this one!
Review: Varaste's "The Face of the American Dream" is simply fantastic. So many Barbie books simply photograph the fashions and give current prices. Chris takes the subject far deeper than anything I've ever read, both sociologically and in terms of the minute variations within the Barbie doll. It is an absolute feast for the eyes of the collector or non-collector and a treasure trove of information for the collector. It is really awesome! As another reviewer wrote, I would love to see Chris tackle the Mod era in more depth. I look forward to more from him!

Rating:
Summary: If you can only have one Barbie book - make it this one!
Review: Varaste's "The Face of the American Dream" is simply fantastic. So many Barbie books simply photograph the fashions and give current prices. Chris takes the subject far deeper than anything I've ever read, both sociologically and in terms of the minute variations within the Barbie doll. It is an absolute feast for the eyes of the collector or non-collector and a treasure trove of information for the collector. It is really awesome! As another reviewer wrote, I would love to see Chris tackle the Mod era in more depth. I look forward to more from him!

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Summary: Totally informative!!!
Review: without doubt, one of the most imformative books to date written on Barbie. Loaded with tons of information and great close up photographs. Would love to see a follow up written on the Mod era in this format!

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Summary: Great retrospect of fashion and trends of '60's thru Barbie
Review: Wonderful and extensive retrospect of fashion, and makeup trends of the 1960's, and how Barbie was able to keep up with these trends. Beautiful photography, ads from the era mixed in with the text and photography. Great for a collector, along with anyone interested in the 1960's through Mod era. Mr. Varaste has done a superb job with this book.

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Summary: Funfilled smorgasborg celebrating Barbie, women & the 60's!
Review: WOW! 1999! A year celebrating the Millenium, countless retrospectives of the past century and of course, Barbie doll's 40th anniversary as the original Supermodel! Face of the American Dream started out as a photographic valentine to Barbie and then expanded into a celebration of women, and the rocky road they paved in the swinging 60's as the Women's Liberation movement developed. Pouring over old fashion magazines, it was curious to see how the doll was altered to fit the styles of the day. Talk about reinvention! Mattel employees must have worked round the clock to keep up with the ever changing fashion trends. From the bouffant to the micro-mini, Barbie doll's evolution, in retrospect, mirrored the changing cultural role of women in the most colorful, psychedelic decade of the 20th Century. Coincidentally, this year's focus on the 60's started out with a TV retrospective (The Sixties) and mushroomed into a giant Hollywood hit about a 60's swinger (Austin Powers)! What a cool (groovy, far out, hip) way to lead in to this book on the decade that changed America! At the forefront, in an endless parade of looks are the early Barbie dolls, like frozen time capsules of the way we were... I guess this is a gentleman's patriotic salute to the fantastic world of girls, dolls, models, fashion and beauty! Like WOW!!!