Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun

This book, published in 1998, and written by Marco Tosa, is a biography of Barbie, detailing her origins and history.

The book was written by Italian international expert on dolls, Marco Tosa, author of numerous publications on fashion, and on the history, culture, and imagery of dolls.

The pink hardcover book comes with an eye-catching paper dust cover featuring Barbie’s photo as Marilyn Monroe and the book’s title, Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun.

The book presents very good documentation about Barbie, including a detailed description of how the dolls are made, a family tree, a chart of her past and present occupations, the dates of issue of each doll model, and a variety of original dolls and accessory packaging.

The book is filled with colorful illustrations and black-and-white images of the stars and designers behind the many incarnations of Barbie. Take an up-close look at the many faces and styles of Barbie throughout history!

One of my favorite parts of the book is the section titled Barbie and the Colors of the World: A Cross-Cultural Journey, where it shows several of the collectible ethnic dolls, including the Puerto Rican Barbie!

The book, in addition to being informative, is full of beautiful illustrations of Barbie; approximately 200 illustrations, including 180 plates in full color!