“Who doesn’t love a good toy or game, or Hollywood movie or TV show? Yet that’s just the surface. Dig deeper into that world of fun and you find American society. That’s the real appeal to me: what toys, games, and the screen say about all of us.”
So says G. Wayne Miller, author of the bestselling Toy Wars and the new Kid Number One, (BookTrib review) the story of industry icon Hasbro and its former philanthropic leader Alan Hassenfeld. In Kid Number One, Miller provides a thorough narrative of the Hassenfelds, the toy conglomerate they built, and its abundance of international kindness.
BookTrib recently had the chance do a deep dive with Miller about the book, how it came together, its protagonist and the industry itself.
Q: Tell us about the experience of writing about Alan Hassenfeld in Kid Number One.
A: I have never enjoyed writing a book more. Alan is refreshingly candid, open and accessible, and his photographic memory for toys, people and events dating to the 1950s is extraordinary – and it was a huge help, given how many products and plots are woven into Kid Number One. Of course, the fact that I have known Alan since I was embedded inside Hasbro in the mid-1990s while writing Toy Wars certainly was a bonus.
Q: What was the biggest challenge?
A: Researching the early history of Hasbro and co-founder Henry Hassenfeld, Alan’s grandfather, and Hillel Hassenfeld, his great-uncle, who came to America as penniless teenage immigrants in 1903 to escape religious persecution and supported themselves peddling rags. A lot of work went into that account. But well worth it: What were the odds these two kids – who spoke no English when they stepped off the boat in New York, by the way — would found a $5 billion toy and games company?
Q: How would you describe Alan in his role as a chief executive for a major toy company?
A: Alan never expected or wanted to run Hasbro, but when his brother, Stephen, died of AIDS in 1989, he stepped into the corner office. Stephen was a business genius who built a small family company into a Fortune 500 darling, so that was a tough act to follow.
But Alan did, and then some, taking the company to new heights with the acquisitions of companies and lines including Star Wars, Kenner, Jurassic Park, Tonka, Parker Games, Magic: The Gathering, and many more. As CEO and chairman, he was not just hugely successful, but warm-hearted and kind to all of his employees, factory worker or executive.
Q: How would you describe Alan as a personality?
A: Funny, modest, generous, loyal and down to earth. And passionate about causes that are important to him, including children’s health, education, immigration, refugees, politics, international peace and Israel. I have spent many fine hours with Alan, and honestly I treasure them all. It was a lucky day when I met him, almost 30 years ago.
Q: What was the most difficult segment to write about?
A: Many developments in Washington since January 2017 have increasingly and deeply disturbed Alan. Prime among them are federal government policies regarding immigration and refugees, and the impasse on policies and laws to curb gun violence. The overall paralysis on Capitol Hill is also troubling to him. And he has been outspoken on all these issues. It wasn’t exactly difficult writing this, but it did involve emotion.
Q: What will readers take away from reading Kid Number One?
A: If they are entertained by all these many toy stories, if they learn something about our culture, and if they are inspired to do good, which is the essence of Alan’s life and message, then I will be delighted. I can reliably state that Alan will be, too!
Q: What writers have been your inspiration?
A: Melville, Poe, Stephen King, Tracy Kidder, Don Katz, Jonathan Harr and, more recently, Dan Barry and C.J. Chivers, both of The New York Times.
Q: What is your next project?
A: Where to begin?! I am working on a TV script, a novel, and a non-fiction medical book. I guess my national PBS and SiriusXM Radio show, “Story in the Public Square,” could also be categorized as a project. I have loved writing since elementary school and am daily reminded how blessed I am to have been able to make a living from it.
Learn more about Wayne on his author profile page.
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About G. Wayne Miller:
G. Wayne Miller is a Providence Journal staff writer, filmmaker, screenwriter, podcaster, visiting fellow at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, and co-host and co-producer of the Telly Award-winning weekly national PBS TV and SiriusXM Satellite Radio show Story in the Public Square. He is also the author of 10 books of non-fiction, four novels and three short-story collections. His most recent book, published in 2019, is Kid Number One: A story of heart, soul and business, featuring Alan Hassenfeld and Hasbro, the sequel (and prequel) to his best-selling Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie and the Companies That Make Them.
