The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination

The extraordinary inside story of the LEGO company--producer of the most beloved and popular toy on the planet--based on unprecedented access to the founding family that still owns the company, chronicling the brand's improbable journey to become the empire that it is today.&nbsp; "This book tells the story of how my family built the LEGO brand." --Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, former President/CEO of the LEGO Group and 3rd generation owner From bare-bones wooden toys to plastic interlocking bricks, from a single rectangle on which a child could build a simple house to the ability to recreate the worlds of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman, and more, hundreds of millions of people around the world have played with LEGOs, driven around in toy cars at LEGOLAND, and flocked to theaters to watch The LEGO Movie and its sequels. Some have taken their passion into adulthood, building in the late hours when the younger generation has been tucked into bed. Though LEGO has existed for nearly a century, the product has not always been the one we know and adore today. The toy has undergone big changes in both material and design due to a combination of cultural and historical circumstances as well as industrial advancements. Yet as ubiquitous as the LEGO company is, the family behind the brand is an enigma. Now, for the first time, the Kirk Kristiansen family has agreed to tell the story of LEGO and their life's work to Jens Andersen, one of Denmark's most acclaimed writers and beloved biographers. Through interviews with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen--who represents the third generation of the family business--and with access to the vast LEGO archive, Andersen takes the reader back to the very beginning of LEGO and chronicles its improbable journey to become the iconic company that it is today. The LEGO Story is the definitive story behind one of the most beloved brands on the planet, shown through the deeply personal lens of one singular family. Excellently written with ease and verve, it's also a riveting cultural history of changing generations' view of childhood and the importance of play. Richly illustrated with never-before-seen photos from the family's private archive, this is the ultimate book for fans of LEGO, revealing everything you ever wanted to know about the brand.&nbsp;

Andersen, Jens

Humor & Entertainment

Mariner Books

The first English‑language biography of Astrid Lindgren provides a moving and revealing portrait of the beloved Scandinavian literary icon whose adventures of Pippi Longstocking have influenced generations of young readers all over the world. Lindgren’s sometimes turbulent life as an unwed teenage mother, outspoken advocate for the rights of women and children, and celebrated editor and author is chronicled in fascinating detail by Jens Andersen, one of Denmark’s most popular biographers. Based on extensive research and access to primary sources and letters, this highly readable account describes Lindgren’s battles with depression and her personal struggles through war, poverty, motherhood, and fame. Andersen examines the writer’s oeuvre as well to uncover the secrets to the books’ universal appeal and why they have resonated so strongly with young readers for more than seventy years.

Astrid Lindgren: The Woman Behind Pippi Longstocking

Teen & Young Adult

Yale University Press

A portrait published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth evaluates his role as a critical journalist and supporter of the scientific community, citing his travel writings, his achievements as a cut-paper artist, and his struggles with hypochondria. 15,000 first printing.

Hans Christian Andersen: A New Life

Biographies & Memoirs

Nunnally, Tiina

Arts & Literature

Abrams Press

Hans Christian Andersen was a storyteller for children of all ages, but he was more than that. He was a critical journalist with great enthusiasm for science, an existential thinker, an observant travel book writer, a passionate novelist, a deft paper cut-out artist, a neurotic hypochondriac, and a man with intense but frustrated sexual desires. This startling and immensely readable, definitive new biography by Danish scholar Jens Andersen is essential to a full understanding of the man whose writing has influenced the lives of readers young and old for centuries. Jens Andersen sheds brilliant new light on Hans Christian Andersen’s writings and on the writer whose own life had many aspects of the fairytale. Like some of the memorable characters he created, Andersen grew up in miserable and impoverished circumstances. He later propagated myths about his life and family, but this new biography uncovers much about this man that has never been revealed before.

Astrid Lindgren. Ihr Leben

Community & Culture

Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt

Pantheon Verlag

La historia de Lego. Como un juguete despertó la imaginación del mundo / The Lego Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination (Spanish Edition)

Professionals & Academics

Conecta

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Books by Andersen, Jens