annieb123's Review of The Secret Life of LEGO® Bricks

by Daniel Konstanski

Building the ordinary into the extraordinary – brick by brick.

This first official book for Adult Fans of LEGO® takes the reader on a visually stunning journey from the very earliest hollow bricks to the complex shapes and building techniques of today.

LEGO bricks are design icons and marvels of engineering. Virtually unchanged for over fifty years, the brick is still at the very centre of LEGO’s ethos: each brick connects to every other brick, allowing the construction of almost anything you can imagine. LEGO minifigures may be the friendly faces of the LEGO world, but bricks in all their different shapes and forms are its very foundation.

The Secret Life of LEGO® Bricks explores the brick’s rich history in full colour and unparalleled detail. Granted unprecedented access by the LEGO Group, Daniel Konstantski has interviewed design masters, element testers and the so-called ‘rock stars’, the set designers, to reveal for the first time how and why new LEGO bricks are made.

This is the book the fans have always wanted: a truly behind-the-scenes look at the story of the beloved LEGO brick and the company which makes it, with a wealth of exclusive visual material from the LEGO Archive in Billund.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks is an encyclopedic monograph on all things LEGO by Daniel Konstanski. Released 19th Sept 2024 by Unbound, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover format. It's unclear from the publisher's info, but at least the ebook ARC provided for review also has interactive hyperlinks throughout.

This is a gorgeously illustrated -very- deep dive into the history, design, stories, and people behind the universally beloved building bricks which have graced kids' toyboxes, adults collections, engineering student lounges, and geek-allied tech giants (Google, Microsoft, Blizzard, etc) for the last 80 years. The author is incredibly knowledgeable and writes interestingly and accessibly about LEGO. There are personal stories from numerous employees and hobbyists throughout the decades.

Some of the highlights from the book include all the photos from LEGO corporation's own historical archives as well as design schematics and facsimile design pages which aren't usually available to the public. There aren't any build plans included in the book, but just the historical collections and collector editions of sets from yesteryear are worth the price of admission. Mr. Konstanski knows LEGO (he's the editor of Blocks Magazine) and shares his expertise with readers in a fun and engaging way.

Five stars, awesome fun. It would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home reference, gaming groups, and similar.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

31 October, 2024: Started reading

31 October, 2024: Finished reading

31 October, 2024: Reviewed