Disclaimer: I'm a proud contributor to this book, I have two creations in it and I couldn't be happier. This may indeed skew my perception of it, but I wanted to share what I thought anyway.

I was very pleased when the mailman delivered this book yesterday. I've been looking forward to seeing it. When Mike Doyle contacted me in January last year I had no clue what he was planning on putting together. This book is utterly gorgeous, from cover to cover. It goes far beyond a typical compilation of pictures, Mike has put a ton of work into this. From the thoughtful order and arrangement, to the meticulous coloration of some backgrounds he has gathered the art of others and his own and created new art, greater than the sum of it's parts.

The book itself is actually smaller than I expected. I have no idea why, but I expected it to be more "coffee table" if you will. it's actually 8"x10", which I suppose is more fitting to it's photographic nature. But the quality is very nice, with a folded front and back cover and heavy paper with a slight sheen.

While it is quite predominately a picture book, there is still quite a bit to read. All of the featured artists including Mr. Doyle have contributed their thoughts and backgrounds. All being posed the question "why LEGO?"

I know I have a different perspective on the contents of this book. For one, I've been very active in the LEGO art and AFOL community for years, and I've already seen 90% of the creations in here a great many in person. I'm also friends with many of the artists involved. But somehow, and I can't explain it, it all feels fresh and new. Maybe it's just the presentation and layout. Maybe it's seeing them in print instead of on a glowing LCD. I have no idea, but I'm sincerely thankful for this book, it's given me a chance to experience all these wonderful creations for the first time, again.

If I have a complaint it would be about the cover. The front has got a matte finish that loves to show off every single place you touch it, and it has a tendency to bow and buckle, making the book hard to flex and open oddly enough. But clearly these are very minor issues.

Overall, I absolutely love this book. It's a fantastic compilation of incredible work and perfectly named. In a word, beautiful.

I give it 5 out of 5 Nerdys