The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination
- Downloads：8443
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-04 05:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jens Andersen
- ISBN：B09SGHR49N
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Michal Wojtowicz
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Świetna historia。 Cztery pokolenia i piąte na horyzoncie。 Świetne studium życia organizacji i równolegle studium rozwoju zabawek， które obecnie znamy jako klocki LEGO。 Polecam każdemu fanowi produktu jak i menadżerom。
Chris Jaffe
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"Oh， hey - leogs！ I remember playing with them as a kid！ This should be a fun read！" - Nope。 it's no a fun read。 It's pretty dull。I don't see anywhere on the book saying it's an authorized history， but it may as well be。 Andersen spoke at length with the members of the founding family （who still runs the company now）， took notes on what they said， and turned those notes into this book。 Wanna read a book about legos？ Well， by "legos" I mean， do you wanna read a book about the family in charge of "Oh， hey - leogs！ I remember playing with them as a kid！ This should be a fun read！" - Nope。 it's no a fun read。 It's pretty dull。I don't see anywhere on the book saying it's an authorized history， but it may as well be。 Andersen spoke at length with the members of the founding family （who still runs the company now）， took notes on what they said， and turned those notes into this book。 Wanna read a book about legos？ Well， by "legos" I mean， do you wanna read a book about the family in charge of legos？ You do get a sense of the course of the company， but you read through tons of filler about the Kristiansen family。 You'll get more info about a 1969 car accident that killed the boss's daughter than you will about any actual lego product。The founder was a carpenter who， desperate for work during the Depression， started making some toys。 It may have first been a temperoary manuever for him， but it worked out so he stuck with it。 This was wooden toys。 They survived WWII， and afterwards had a big seller with a "peace pistol" - as nothing says peace like a toy gun。 In the 1950s， they learned of a British toymaker who made plastic toys， and they adopted it。 Wood was phased out and plastics were in。 They went more international， first into Germany， then elsewhere and the big one， America。 They made their own plastic innovation in the late 1950s: instead of a purely hollow bottom to their plastic brick， they put a plastic tube （or tubes） on the bottom side that allows for more interlocking patterns。 Growing up in the 1980s in the US， the toy seemed timeless， but apparently it had really only caught on in the US a decade or two before I came on the scene。 They've had their ups and downs ever since。 They have more specific toy sets。 They more specifically market to boys and girls separately。 （The old school legos were more for boys， with housing exteriors。 Then they went more for interiors to get more girls）。 Now， boy-stuff is more militaristic。 They made the LEGO movie。And there is so fucking much shit on the Kristiansen family。 The fourth generation recently took over and the book ends with 10 pages or so on the coming fifth generation。 。。。more
Timon
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As a former Lego fan， I was looking forward to learning more about the origins and evolution of this classic toy and how it evolved over time to maintain its relevance。 Instead， this book focussed on the multi-generational family behind the company。 As a result， there was no mention of the Lego clones like Megabloks and little time spent on their transition to digital （video games and movies）。
Andrew
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Was headed to four stars just for the story， but could have used more perspectives especially from the shop floor。
Russell
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"The Lego Story" recounts the very small beginnings of the Lego brand， based on largely handmade painted wooden toys from a tiny workshop in rural Denmark， to the multibillion international corporation it is today。 The first half of the book telling of how Lego grew and eventually focused on plastic bricks is perhaps more interesting than the second half， which records how the business passed from generation to generation， remaining a fully family-owned company today。 "The Lego Story" recounts the very small beginnings of the Lego brand， based on largely handmade painted wooden toys from a tiny workshop in rural Denmark， to the multibillion international corporation it is today。 The first half of the book telling of how Lego grew and eventually focused on plastic bricks is perhaps more interesting than the second half， which records how the business passed from generation to generation， remaining a fully family-owned company today。 。。。more
Alessandro Marchesin
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More like a management book， including the Lego business case， rather than an entertaining story。
AnneMarie
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3。5 starsInteresting， but very information-heavy， I did a lot of skimming
Noah
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5 sterren voor inhoud， fascinerend boek， al gaat het amper over het speelgoed zelf en vooral over het bedrijf。3 sterren voor hoe het geschreven is
Brenda
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AudiobookThis was definitely a complete history of LEGO。 I found the narrator hard to follow and did tune out throughout the book。 It was nice to learn about the beginnings of the company and of the family， but it was a little much at times。
Barbara Van loenen
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Interesting but it would make a much better podcast。
Hubert
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A well-written family 'chronicle'， especially recommended for any avid LEGO fan。The author introduces the key events from the 9 decades of the turbulent development of what today is one of the strongest lifestyle brands in the world。 Looking into the upcoming operational take-over of the 5th generation of Kirk Kristiansens from Billund， it's encouraging to learn how many twists and turns the former 3 （Ole Kirk Christiansen， Godtfred Kirk Christiansen， and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen） and the currentl A well-written family 'chronicle'， especially recommended for any avid LEGO fan。The author introduces the key events from the 9 decades of the turbulent development of what today is one of the strongest lifestyle brands in the world。 Looking into the upcoming operational take-over of the 5th generation of Kirk Kristiansens from Billund， it's encouraging to learn how many twists and turns the former 3 （Ole Kirk Christiansen， Godtfred Kirk Christiansen， and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen） and the currently reigning family representative Thomas Kirk Kristiansen had to undergo to waiver the storms that lego faces since the 1950s。Some lessons worth taking away:- a religious affiliation of the family （especially OC and GKC）: still in the 60s every day at the factory in Billund started with a little mass- the original Automatic Binding Bricks were copied from a UK design （Kiddicraft）- internally there was a massive debacle on whether LEGO should concentrate on bricks and brick systems made of plastic or stick to wooden toys- for many years bricks were sold without a project context， you were buying just a number of pieces and you were left to create whatever you wished， today's 'less creative' nature of the sets is being part of the criticism- initially much lower adoption among girls was said to be due to lack of human/relational context， fixed in the early 2000s- the mini-figures were introduced only in mid-70s- some partnerships failed miserably （Samsonite as a distributor for US）， and some worked tremendously deal for Happy Meals with McDonald's- leadership style kept evolving， strongly inspired by eastern cultures by Kjeld- family-owned businesses are very specific， top management often changed and blamed for the misfortunes- LEGO devised one of the best models for generational change， now the 5th gen of 6 girls is being prepped- family office investment activities well structured under KIRKBI wealth management structures， now employing close to 200 FTEs- 。。。more
Robin van der Weiden
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Fascinerend boek over hoe een familie bedrijf uitgroeit tot een wereldwijd fenomeen。 Goede balans tussen een wat persoonlijker familie verhaal en de wat drogere zaken kant。
Ineke van Vlimmeren
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ik vond het een interessant boek dat de weg van Lego beschrijft en de beslissingen die het bedrijf moest nemen。 Niet heel best geschreven en sommige periodes duurden lang en andere vlogen er doorheen。 Leuke foto’s uit de familiegeschiedenis。 Een goed boek voor de liefhebber。
Emily
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This was waaaaay too sanitized to be very interesting， and there wasn’t nearly enough info about the development of the toys。 Just men running corporations boooooooo
JRKS
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3。8
Nicole Barbaro
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My sister and I were bog LEGO fans growing up and still have LEGO sets today。 This book met expectations and delivered a wonderfully in-depth and enjoyable history of this 90 year old 🇩🇰 company。 Also this is a beautiful book product — LEGO themed from cover to cover。
Holly
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This is a non-fiction account of the how the business of the Lego brand was formed and flourished。 It's a bit dry at points and perhaps left out some of the "fun" of the Lego brand。 It's the story of the family who invented the Lego bricks， how they managed it through three generations and developed it into the global brand it is today。 That said， the quote on the front reads， "How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination。" As such I expected more about the relationship of the toy with the k This is a non-fiction account of the how the business of the Lego brand was formed and flourished。 It's a bit dry at points and perhaps left out some of the "fun" of the Lego brand。 It's the story of the family who invented the Lego bricks， how they managed it through three generations and developed it into the global brand it is today。 That said， the quote on the front reads， "How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination。" As such I expected more about the relationship of the toy with the kids/people who enjoy them rather than solely the business behind the company and the management decisions made along the way。 It does detail the cultural history as it passes from generation to generation but that wasn't terribly exciting。 It's easy to forget that you're reading about Legos as it's so business focused。 。。。more
DoCheck
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Good book
CatReader
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An interesting story about the founding and history of the Lego company。 The book could've benefitted from a good editor to improve flow and remove excess detail。 The main draw of Lego for many is the whimsical， modular nature of the product， but the book was rather dry。 An interesting story about the founding and history of the Lego company。 The book could've benefitted from a good editor to improve flow and remove excess detail。 The main draw of Lego for many is the whimsical， modular nature of the product， but the book was rather dry。 。。。more
Chuck Segall
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Overall this was an interesting read about the history of the company。 If you're looking for a history of the product， this isn't the best place to find that information。 Overall this was an interesting read about the history of the company。 If you're looking for a history of the product， this isn't the best place to find that information。 。。。more
Chee
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Really bad book！ Lacks focus。 Lots of points being mumbled together。 Started talking a lot about the family’s last name spelling， their religious belief and etc。 Touched briefly on the business aspects of things， didn’t do well in explaining what makes the business flourish or what almost bankrupted the brand。 Was such a struggle to finish。 I love Lego so this book was quite a let down。 Too bad that it turns out like this， had lots of potential！
Trian
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Well， i found this interesting: i learned a lot about the Danish family firm and their history。 I loved the fact that Ole was so nice and at times that was how they made it through to the next day。 I also found it really interesting how much risk taking the progress had taken。 Wow。
Matt
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This was decent but I wanted more。 I felt the time spent in various decades was unequally distributed。 The initial chapters set in the 20s thru WWII progressed very slowly。 By the time it got to more recent decades and the real rise of LEGO as a global phenomenon the book moved at breakneck pace。 Too much was thrown at the reader over the final chapters。
book bruin
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The LEGO Story was a really interesting listen about the history and evolution of the company and the family behind it。 I've loved LEGO since I was a child and my own children have become fans as well， so it was fun to get this in depth behind the scenes look。 The material was at times dense （especially the business aspects）， but I thought the information was well organized and painted a great overview of the company's journey。 This isn't a book about the LEGO toys themselves， though the develop The LEGO Story was a really interesting listen about the history and evolution of the company and the family behind it。 I've loved LEGO since I was a child and my own children have become fans as well， so it was fun to get this in depth behind the scenes look。 The material was at times dense （especially the business aspects）， but I thought the information was well organized and painted a great overview of the company's journey。 This isn't a book about the LEGO toys themselves， though the development of the toys are discussed。 This is a book about the Christiansen/Kristiansen family and their struggles and triumphs in creating the LEGO brand。I appreciated the PDF companion that came with the audiobook since all the names and major players got a bit confusing after a while （there's an included family tree）。 The PDF also included photos of places， people， items， etc referenced in the text。 The narration by Peter Cross was really fantastic and the audiobook was an enjoyable listening experience。I will not be giving a star rating since this is a nonfiction title。 。。。more
Marjorie
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3。5
Pcox
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Well written and informative with tons of photos to bring the entire story to life。 No women in management until 2006 though。
Mr。 Armstrong
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A boring book about something I find fascinating。
Stephanie P （Because My Mother Read）
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I received a free copy of this book for review。I am a big fan of LEGOs and so it was fascinating to learn the backstory to the company through this book。 The beginning was a little slower for me but I loved all the information once things started coming together。 Recommended for LEGO fans， people passionate about business， and anyone who is interested in toy history。
Raelene
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Maybe I just misunderstood what this book was about。 The gorgeous cover （and back cover with all the Lego products on it） and even the description made me think the book would be more about the Lego product than it actually was。 This focused heavily on the business side of things and the owners。 Which isn’t bad， but the description says ‘this is the ultimate book for fans of Lego’ and as a fan of Lego， I don’t think I agree with that statement。 I think it’s more of a book for people who are inte Maybe I just misunderstood what this book was about。 The gorgeous cover （and back cover with all the Lego products on it） and even the description made me think the book would be more about the Lego product than it actually was。 This focused heavily on the business side of things and the owners。 Which isn’t bad， but the description says ‘this is the ultimate book for fans of Lego’ and as a fan of Lego， I don’t think I agree with that statement。 I think it’s more of a book for people who are interested in learning about how a business can come to be successful。 But now that I’ve finished the book I’m literally seeing the quote “this book tells the story of how family built the Lego brand” by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen soo yeah， maybe I really did just misunderstand the intent of the book。I listened to the audiobook while following along with the physical book and while I think the narrator did an excellent job， the book is visually stunning。 I appreciate that there is a pdf file with the pictures included in the book， but it just fits better to be following along with the book and see the picture places into the story exactly when they’re supposed to be （as opposed to one after another in the pdf file）。 I really did appreciate how many photos were included， and the variety of them。If you are interested in learning the backstory of a business， I’d recommend this。 But I’d be hesitant to do so if you are just someone who owns and appreciates Lego products。 。。。more
Bookworm
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