Life Like Dolls by A.F. Robertson (2003, Paperback)

This is the kind of book that gives serious social scientists a bad name. This is the kind of book that makes the "hard science" scientists make jokes about social "scientists." I appreciate Dr. Robertson's attempt to appeal to the largest possible readership in order to sell his book, but, unfortunately, all the rambling text just made the book tedious, repetitive, disorganized, poorly presented, and way too generalized. Instead of scientific conclusions (or even an attempt at some semblance of scientific method), Dr. R. makes huge sweeping generalizations about what his little computer-generated statistics tell him! I was embarrassed for him. I understand that students were major contributors, so maybe I should keep that in mind. Now they can all claim they've been "published." But, that issue aside, Dr. Robertson often wandered off the subject (Porcelain Collector Dolls) into other areas and kinds of doll collecting, sometimes seeming to imply that other kinds of doll collecting are just as weird and demented as PCD collecting. Maybe so, but other kinds of doll collecting should have waited for another book, instead of muddying the water in this volume, generalizing, summarizing, pontificating, and just making the book an exasperating trial to read. That said, I do think the subject is a fascinating one, and I think the doll "sculptors" and manufacturers would be even more fun to study! When I first started working in antique and vintage doll repair, my first response to the PCD's I saw in doll magazines was the same one Dr. Robertson often encountered outside of the PCD collecting "world:" Eeeee-ee-eew; nauseating; weird! What kind of people collect these dolls?! The answer could have been summarized in a short essay. After seeing some of the PCD's at doll shows, I began to think about their usefulness in the Los Angeles area carpool lanes. Hmmm...might be worth the investment, but would I be strangely compelled to keep buying them?? Have a trunk full? More dolls in car seats in the back? I also think it tells a lot about this author's methods to note that the most often quoted sources in the book are incredibly out of date! Why Dr. R. used studies from 1896 (Hall and Ellis) and Freud, who isn't even in the bibliography, and who no one takes seriously anymore anyway, is really beyond me. I was mildly entertained by Dr. Robertson's discussion of "hyperreality," but it was just one among many random thoughts he was handing out as scientific fact. It's fine to hypothesize and speculate, but he forgot to tell us that the WHOLE BOOK is just an anecdotal rumination. This is what my mathematician husband calls "telling stories." The frequency charts in the appendix were really disappointing and will go over the heads of most readers; why didn't he just use bar graphs? Chapter 8 was the best, most organized, and most interesting section in the book; I wish I'd read it first and saved myself a lot of time. © 2004 S. Spika (rarebookwoman on eBay)