I recently finished reading the new edition of The LEGO® Book, and thought that I would take a moment to share my thoughts on it. I’ll start off by stating that this is yet another DK book, so there is a fair amount of overlap with previous LEGO® books. However, there is a concerted effort to include as many themes as possible, and a fair amount of history too.
Front cover of The LEGO® Book.
I have not read the first edition of this book, so I can’t compare the changes that have been made. However, I can say that I found this book to be an enjoyable read that contained a lot of fun facts. The LEGO® Book does not jump into the same amount of detail about any given theme as, say, a DK visual dictionary would, but it gives the highlights. I found the content to be similar to A Million Little Bricks by Sarah Herman (click here to read my review), only in this edition you get the picture heavy layouts that DK books are known for.
Back cover of The LEGO® Book.
Like previous DK books that I have reviewed, this book made a sort of haphazard attempt to be current at the time of its release. It was released on October 2, 2018. The book does contain many references to LEGO® sets and happenings throughout 2018, but leaves other key developments out. An example would be the book’s discussion of the arctic City sub-theme. It mentions the sets that were released in 2014, but makes no mention of the theme’s revival during the publication year. Those sets were released months before this book was. I also noticed a few errors, like the fact that the bear figurine is listed only as a 2018 addition. Perhaps they were referring specifically to the black bear variant, but the same mold has been seen in the past as a brown bear and a polar bear, neither of which is mentioned in the book.
A spread showing how LEGO® bricks are made.
I did rather like the spreads in this book. Generally speaking, DK does a good job with the layout of their LEGO® books. The same is true for this edition. But, this book also switched up the page orientation from portrait to landscape in the Pirates section, which I thought was neat. I would have liked to have seen more sections flipped like that, just to mix things up.
One of the flipped Pirates spreads that mixes up the visuals in the book a little.
Finally, this book also comes with a freebie. While most books of this nature include a Minifigure, this one comes with an exclusive LEGO® brick. It is a standard 2×4, but one side of it is printed to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the brick. It is a change from the usual, but they could have still stuck with a Minifigure since it was also the 40th anniversary of the Minifigure. Or better yet, include both to warrant all that extra cardboard packaging in the cover… I will still probably find a neat way to showcase this brick in my LEGO® city though.
The packaging for the exclusive LEGO® brick is a little much, but you still get a lot of actual book with this edition too.
Overall, The LEGO® Book is a fun read, but it is not mind blowing information that you can’t find in numerous other sources, or on the internet. I am still waiting for that defining LEGO® book. I like the commemorative brick, but it would have been cooler to get a Minifigure too. It makes a nice coffee table book though.
Each theme has a “sets to remember” spread like this that I found quite nostalgic.
Have you read The LEGO® Book? Feel free to share your thoughts on it in the comments below. Also, if you like the content at True North Bricks, I would love it if you followed me here on WordPress (click the “follow” option in the menu to your right), Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter for regular updates.
Until next time,
-Tom
The exclusive, commemorative, printed 2×4 brick included with The LEGO Book.
