Must read: The LEGO saga - The little brick that conquered the world

If you don't know what to give at the end of the year to a LEGO fan who already has everything or almost everything and who will look good out of politeness in front of the LEGO IDEAS table football that you had planned to put under the tree, know that the publisher Dunod is publishing this year a French version of the work by Jens Andersen already published in English in 2022 under the title The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination.

The work, titled in French The LEGO saga - The little brick that conquered the world, has since its publication become a reference in terms of the history of the LEGO group, its author having had full access to the group's archives as well as to Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, director of the company from 1979 to 2004 and incidentally grandson of the founder of the brand, Ole Kirk Christiansen.

The 380 pages of this French version are therefore filled with photos and visuals, some of which are completely new, and statements from Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen covering the historical course of the LEGO adventure from its creation to the present day.

Make no mistake, this is not a book to glorify LEGO products, even if they are obviously at the center of the group's history, the book is above all a detailed chronology of the development of the brand with its successes, its failures, the methods of its managers to maintain pressure on its customers and its strategies to stay afloat even during the most disrupted periods by bad choices or unfavorable economic conditions.

We could regret that the author lingers almost a little too much on the first years of what would become the LEGO company and then moves a little too quickly to the current period, but this richly documented and illustrated return to the sources remains coherent and punctuated. of first-hand statements that give the impression of having at hand a book that is not a simple fictionalized version of the history of the LEGO Group.

The common thread of the book is obviously the family saga of the group initiated by the founder Ole Kirk Christiansen, extended by his son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen then perpetuated by his grandson Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, and one will have to feel a certain interest in this story which has led to the brand's current success so as not to abandon reading along the way. This is the price to pay to immerse yourself in this saga at the origin of our passion and even if the book only evokes LEGO products through their impact on the evolution of the brand, the effort will in my opinion be amply rewarded.

This work is not a marketing manual, even if it largely discusses the group's strategy, such as the partnership with McDonald's in the 80s to conquer the USA, nor is it a biography. discount idealizing a story too often told by omitting certain details, it is simply a richly documented and abundantly commented analysis by someone who knows more than anyone about the history of his own family and his society.

The book is available at the public price of €26.90 on FNAC.com, at Cultura or at Amazon:

The LEGO saga

26.90 €

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Note: The copy presented here, provided by the publisher, is as usual put into play. Deadline set for November 19, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.