G. Wayne Miller

Thanks to NetGalley, G. Wayne Miller and Crossroad Press. This book was extremely enjoyable. The characters were fantastic and I was able to connect and sympathize with them immediately. There was literary commentary on grief, mental illness and spirituality throughout.

The storyline was really unique. I found myself constantly changing my opinion on whether what Mary was experiencing was mental illness caused by trauma, demonic possession or if she was being influenced by some other entity. show more It definitely keeps the reader on their toes.

I also enjoyed some of the other small details the author provided. Especially the inclusion of news reports from local papers and TV studios. Also loved the cast of characters at the beginning. I wish more authors would do this, it is always included for plays so why not novels?

This would easily be a 4 star read for me but I think it needs some polishing to get there. The timeline is hard to follow from time to time and I felt like there were age discrepancies and some jumbling of dates off and on. That being said I absolutely loved the story, the combination of trauma and science fiction was a blast for me. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot about the history of Hasbro and the Hassenfeld family. I was really young when the toys started coming out. Although, I do remember playing with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads. Me and my sister would be entertained for hours mixing tons of different combinations with the parts. I did briefly play with GI Joe as well.

Mr. Miller gave me tons of information but in a way that made it enlightening and interesting to read. I did not feel like I show more was reading a history book. Every time I thought that was an "ah ha" moment, there was another one in that I would read about a few pages or chapters later. For anyone who is still a child at heart or wants to read the history of Hasbro should check out this book. show less

A Story Worth Telling
Although "Toy Wars" is subtitled "The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies that Make Them", Miller's tale trains its spotlight almost exclusively on Hasbro. This, however, does not make the tome any less interesting and insightful. The toys themselves take a back seat to the colorful personalities that run the show and shape the imaginations and desires of millions of young minds.

We learn that running a toy company is not only about designing good show more toys. It is also about licensing, mergers and acquisitions, focus groups, `cartoons-as-subtle-advertising'--and a lot of Machiavellian wheeling and dealing. Miller also subtly introduces a `battle of the sexes' undercurrent in the conflict of the two titanic players, Hasbro and Mattel.

Hasbro's story was a story worth telling-and Miller tells it well.

(Posted in Amazon.com, March 28, 2004) show less