“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.”

~ Ruth Handler, creator of Barbie.

Barbie’s 65th anniversary is celebrated in a book dedicated to the fascinating story of the world’s most popular doll. Created by Mattel founder Ruth Handler, a feminist-visionary who changed the game forever, Barbie defied the social conventions of the 1950s, establishing extra roles for women beyond the restrictive ones of wife & mother.

Decade by decade, this book thoroughly explores the evolution of the Barbie doll from 1959 to the present with fascinating facts, ideas and images printed for the first time. Today, more than a billion Barbie dolls with more than 250 careers have been purchased worldwide, available in a multitude of different nationalities, ethnicities and body types.

In these pages, readers will discover not only Barbie’s rich history but also her unique magic: She’s a doll through which girls can project their own fantasies, whether it’s a doctor, a rock star, a paleontologist, a gold Olympian, Major League Baseball player, environmentalist, surfer or veterinarian.

Photos Courtesy of Assouline