One of the great things about summer is that I once again have time to read books for fun. A few months ago, on my trip to New York City (click here to read about it), I picked up a LEGO related book in a used bookshop. It was called A Million Little Bricks – The Unofficial Illustrated History of the LEGO Phenomenon, by Sarah Herman. It was published Skyhorse Publishing in 2012. I have been slowly reading my way through it for the last couple of weeks, and finished it off yesterday.
This book was a nice change from the usual DK LEGO encyclopedia-type books, mainly because I was reading a book geared towards grown-ups for once. Despite being illustrated, this is probably not one for the kids. But, A Million Little Bricks is still an interesting read for the adult fan of LEGO. It gives a pretty in depth history of the LEGO Group, and contained many facts that I was unaware of. It also had a lot of those fun little tidbits of LEGO trivia that makes the DK books fun.
What I was not so fond of in this volume is the heavy reliance on set descriptions. The cover says the book is illustrated, and it does contain a large number of nice, colour pictures. However, for every set that is pictured, there are several more that are simply described. I could have done with fewer set descriptions and more plain LEGO history. Many of the set descriptions did mention LEGO firsts that were included, but I noticed several interesting LEGO developments that were not mentioned at all. For example, the book talks about the Orient Expedition theme, but did not mention the fact that it contained the first and only LEGO elephants, which are now quite popular with collectors. I think more inclusions like that, and perhaps more discussion about the development of themes and inspiration for them would have made the book better. I also found it jumped around a bit, so sticking with a chronological order would have made it a smoother read.
All in all, I would say that this book is a great read for adult LEGO fans who want a break from the child-friendly DK books. I enjoyed reading it, and learned a lot about one of my favorite brands. If you have read it, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
-Tom
Want to buy this book?
These affiliate links earn True North Bricks a small commission that helps keep our content free.
One thought on “A Million Little Bricks [Book Review]”
Comments are closed.