Unlock the toy vault and be transported into a whirlwind adventure filled with the secrets behind the top toys and games of your childhood. This biography is of the toy king himself Marvin Glass, who created the first, largest and most successful independent toy invention studio. His genius and fervor for life was said to be a magical blend of Willy Wonka and Howard Hughes. Wonka had his Oompa Loompas and so too did Glass fill his high-security fortress with a cast of crazy characters. Their own words reveal the story of what really went on inside Marvin's legendary studio. This book includes nearly 100 exclusive interviews with first-hand accounts about Marvin, the toys and his wacky studio. The author, a veteran Chicago toy inventor of 30 years asks, "What kind of man can create an industry that didn't exist before him and how did he make it flourish?" If you're ready for the answers, then buckle up because you're about to enter A World Without Reality.
Over 130 playthings from the 1940’s-1980’s are profiled with compelling behind-the-scene creation stories of items like Operation, Simon, Lite-Brite, Rock’em Sock’em Robots, Mouse Trap, the Blythe doll, Yakity Yak Teeth, Whoops (fake vomit), the Pie Face game, Toss Across, Hands Down, Mystery Date, Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle and more!
Also contains over 200 original color photographs including rare prototypes. 1,000 additional images are inside of ads, patents, tv commercials, Glass family photos and internal company promotional images. Six Appendixes are added that include a comprehensive list of all Marvin Glass toys and games, a list of the studios employees and unique floor plans of the never-before seen secret studio.
Bill Paxton is a veteran Chicago toy and game inventor of 30 years who invents them for a living and collects them as a hobby. He lives in Chicagoland with his wife and twin boys. His previous biography is about a 1920's boxing champion and is titled, The Fearless Harry Greb: Biography of a Tragic Hero of Boxing (McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers). Find Bill playing at www.MarvinGlassBook.com
