芭比

The depth of research here is impressive—the way it traces Ruth Handler’s vision from the very first doll through 65 years of cultural shifts kept me turning pages. I especially loved the detailed photos of early, rare Barbie outfits that I’d never seen before.

I expected a fluffy coffee-table book but this actually digs into Ruth Handler's feminist vision and how the doll came to be. The photo history is gorgeous too.

The 65th anniversary section tracing Ruth Handler's original feminist vision genuinely surprised me—I expected fluff, not real history. The photos are gorgeous too, and it's the kind of book you leave on the coffee table just so guests pick it up.