For me, it opened up the door to a whole lot of fun. I always thought of LEGOs as a young child's toy. Software developers use terms like toolkit, development environment, and rapid prototyping. The LEGO system is a toolkit, a development environment, and a rapid prototyping tool, just for objects in the physical world.

Combining robotics with the flexibility and diversity of parts, you can make almost anything. I've seen LEGO-based soda machines and LEGO-based knitting machines. One project I want to build, now that I know this world is here, is a device to feed a stack of CDs (purchased, of course) into iTunes.

No, Forbidden LEGO didn't talk about any of this. But it did show possibilities and variety and was most definitely inspiring. And for that, we have to give it a rating of four bricks out of five. Go ahead. Buy the book.

OUR RATING: 4 of 5

Matthew Justice is a programmer living in Austin, Texas. He have worked for many years developing software applications for both the commercial world and aviation market. In his my limited spare time he likes travel, flying and is the senior webmaster for PalmFLYING.com.