Jens Andersen

A rather exhaustive history of the legacy and internal machinations of the family created company that pretty much remains so today. I never actually owned or played with the bricks but as anyone was well aware of their existence. I had erector sets as a kid and some kind of plastic construction blocks but not these. I see the sets in the stores and online and am somewhat taken back by the cost but apparently they sell well enough to keep the company on top.

In this history of the company it is almost written as a PR piece from a company insider promoting the innovations and worldwide stature of the company. From its humble beginnings in a small town in Denmark making wooden toys it is truly amazing how it survived, the flourished, then struggled, and now seems to have a good future ahead of it.

The struggles it found itself in at the beginning of the millennium seemed to be just a matter of confusion as to direction and the steering a massive bureaucracy. Now the challenge seems to be how to keep the future generations of the family involved in the future of the company. Not the most exciting read but certainly a great historical perspective and a company to admire in how it prospered.… (more)

Have loved Astrid Lindgren, ever since reading the magical Bullerby Children aged 8, but knew nothing about her.
This extremely vivid, readable biography takes her from growing up in the 20s to a strict, religious farming family; a happy childhood, first job as a local reporter...then disaster after falling pregnant by her older, married boss. One feels much of the sadness that comes through in her work emanates from the child's first years (born and fostered out in Copenhagen to avoid detection, with only occasional visits.)
Marriage meant that she eventually recovered her son; meanwhile her writing was taking off, notably with Pippi Longstocking - a cheerful tale in the gloomy post-War years. And meanwhile Lindgren was gaining international acclaim (and censure); was facing family problems and becoming involved in politics...
Read the whole book in a day as it's fascinating!… (more)

A well written biography of Astrid Lindgren who curiously never received a Nobel prize despite its Swedish bias and her excellent connections in the Swedish publishing world. I found it very fascinating to read how rural, conservative and poor Sweden still used to be at the start of the 20th century. Astrid Lindgren starts out as a precocious local journalist impregnated by her married boss. The child is born in the more open city of Copenhagen, supportive of unwed mothers. Lindgren has to endure hard years as a typist/secretary in Stockholm who only from time to time is able to afford visiting her son growing up in Copenhagen. The situation improves when she marries her new boss who directs the Swedish car driver association. Working as a reporter and later censor in WWII, Lindgren finds her calling as an author of fairy tales and invents her first star character of Pippi Longstocking.

Pippi owes its publication to a happy championship and incestuous protectionism in the Swedish publishing industry. The book's editor is also its chief reviewer and sits in the jury awarding it the Swedish children's book prize of the year and pushing it via a radio and print marketing campaign. Never, however, has a character been more deserving of such shady promotion. Pippi was a perfect expression of the social change happening in post-WWII Sweden. Based on the success of Pippi, Astrid Lindgren became a volcano of characters and stories based on both her rural childhood and more modern urban life.

In the third phase of her life, Astrid Lindgren turned political (which probably cost her the Nobel prize). Receiving a 102% marginal tax rate, she turned the heat up against the reigning Social Democrats. Deep down, her ideals were based on the fairly conservative rural life not the standardizing and modernizing cities. Her clear opposition to industrial agriculture and the fight for animal protection relied on the personal bond to the named farm animals not the anonymous suffering objects of agri-business. A great story about a wonderful storyteller and marketer.… (more)