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Christoph Niemann

Abstract City Hardcover – April 1, 2012

by Christoph Niemann (Author)

146 ratings

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In July 2008, illustrator and designer Christoph Niemann began Abstract City, a visual blog for the New York Times. His posts were inspired by the desire to re-create simple and everyday observations and stories from his own life that everyone could relate to. In Niemann’s hands, mundane experiences such as riding the subway or trying to get a good night’s sleep were transformed into delightful flights of visual fancy. The struggle to keep up with housework became a battle against adorable but crafty goblins, and nostalgia about New York manifested in simple but strikingly spot-on LEGO creations. This brilliantly illustrated collection of reflections on modern life includes all 16 of the original blog posts as well as a new chapter created exclusively for the book.

Also available from Christoph Niemann: Sunday Sketching and I LEGO N.Y.

Praise for Abstract City:

“Everyday experiences—from looking at leaves to riding city subways—are funny and fresh and often a source of wonder when depicted by this brilliant graphic designer.” —Readers Digest

“I will call Christoph when anything awful happens to me. And he will make me laugh like crazy about the whole thing. Because he is insanely funny and completely tenderly true. I love every column he did and will do.” —Maira Kalman, author/illustrator of And the Pursuit of Happiness

“Christoph Niemann is the best illustrator alive. Every single time I come across a piece of his work, which is often as he either works all the time, or worse, draws incredibly fast, it is wonderful. While the rest of us are lucky to get a proper piece out here and there, Christoph produces hit after hit after hit. If he wasn’t such a genuinely sweet man, we’d surely hate his ass a lot.” —Stefan Sagmeister, author of Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far

“Few books have more probingly and humorously gotten inside the mind and day-to-day experience of an artist.” —NPR.org

"What’s terrifying (to me, certainly, and possibly to many of his peers) is that nearly every idea he has seems to be equally well formed . . . once again, performing neat, virtuosic circles around the rest of us, to our delight." —PRINT magazine

"Irresistible." —Very Short List

“A masterpiece of sophisticated humor, this is a brilliant one-of-a-kind work.” —Library Journal, starred review

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harry N. Abrams
Publication date

April 1, 2012
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

1419702076
ISBN-13

978-1419702075
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christoph Niemann is an award-winning illustrator, designer, and children’s book author. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, Wired, and the New York Times. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; 1st edition (April 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419702076
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419702075
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.07 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #491,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #534 in Illustration and Graphic Design
- #1,191 in Pop Culture Art
- #17,569 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
146 ratings

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Christoph Niemann

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Christoph Niemann's illustrations have appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Wired, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration. His work has won numerous awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration. He is the author of several children's books, among them "The Pet Dragon," which teaches Chinese characters to young readers and most recently "I LEGO N.Y", where he depicts New York through ultra minimal lego sculptures. For the Website of the New York Times he writes and illustrates a blog called "Abstract City" . After 11 years in New York, he moved to Berlin with his wife, Lisa, and their three sons. His web site is christophniemann.com.

Customer reviews

5 star		85%
4 star		9%
3 star		3%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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morality

A laugh on every page

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 9, 2012

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I was found this book through a recommendation from someone I respect. I have no idea how it has zero reviews, because after ordering it, I promptly read the book from cover to cover in one day. No book has had me laughing as much as this one did - really smart, intelligent illustrations that you sometimes have to think about, but once it clicks, you'll almost certainly laugh out loud. This book was so genius I went to my girlfriend and told her it was the best thing I've ever read - I'm not totally sure that's true, but it was a tour de force from cover to cover. I would recommend it to any smart person with a sense of humor - and especially those from New York, because the NY references certainly will appeal better to those from that region. I am not from there, but still found most of it uproariously funny, incredibly creative, and well worth the purchase. A must buy.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

gdouglas

Very interesting stories with amazing (albeit simple in a GREAT WAY) graphics.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

Wonderful. Not sure where Christoph Niemann gets all of his creative ideas, but this book is fantastic. A series of chapters with interesting stories tied to very interesting graphics (every chapter has its own distinct style). I received one for Christmas and have since bought one for a friend into graphic arts...a great gift for people in this field. The graphics, for the most part, are rather simplistic (e.g., line drawings on napkins in one chapter), but this actually makes the book that much more compelling. You start to realize how visual story telling does not have to involve 15 different computer programs. Moreover, as simple as the graphics are in places, they are ALWAYS incredibly clever.

4 people found this helpful

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Nelson

Thank you Christoph

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

Your work is beyond inspirational. It is insightful to life itself. How you can make one laugh at the agony of the creative process is reassuring and makes me get down off the ledge. Thank you Chris.

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Shanobie

In the mind of a designer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

Fun and interesting look into the life and mind of a designer

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Javier

Great Content in this Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

You can’t go wrong with Christoph Niemann. The book is great! Unfortunately, the cover was severely damaged during the shipping. Thankfully the pages were intact.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

L. Laidlaw

Smart, Funny--A Great Gift!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

This collection of witty and hilarious observations is so much fun to flip through. A collection from the author's visual blog for the NYTimes, everything from legos to pastry dough serve as the materials for his charming illustrations. I purchased this book as a gift for a dear friend this past Christmas, and if I didn't love that friend so much I would surely have kept the book for myself. In fact, I'm going to purchase a few more to keep on hand for housewarming and hostess gifts, and this time I'll keep one for myself. This book is delight for anyone, but especially New Yorkers and artist/designers.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book is very inspiring for artists and for non-artists as well. It is very enjoyable to read. You can also learn a lot of stuff even the intention of the writer isn't so :)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

The book is fantastic but the back cover was torn off - disappointed about that.

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Top reviews from other countries

Mrs. K. A. Wheatley

Funny, clever and charming

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

I saw the Netflix Documentary about Christoph Neimann and was absolutely enchanted by him and his work. I bought this book because of it, and it lives up to my expectations fully. It's a series of quirky essays about city living, mostly set in New York but a few of the essays are set in Berlin where he now lives. They range from life hacks for getting about New York like a native, to living next to where the Berlin Wall stood, to the perfect night's sleep. The short text complements the pictures perfectly. They're witty and charming and sometimes a little poignant.

rakeem18

Wonderfully creative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

There really isn’t anything you need to say about this book. Just buy it. If you like abstract art, you’re going to love it.

Blythe

Great present for anyone!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

I first bought this a year ago for my boyfriend for christmas and since then he's gone on to buy it for his sister and i've now bought it for my dad for christmas this year. It's a fantastic book to dip in and out of or read straight through. Highly entertaining. You won't regret buying this.

Carruthers

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Charming.

Amazon Customer

It's great however I would like if the website specified whether ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

It's great however I would like if the website specified whether the book has a sleeve around the hard cover

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