Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, Phil Knight -- A short Review

'Shoe Dog' captured along with Nike shoes displaying the famous 'Swoosh' logo.

Nike -- a brand that has became a phenomenon not too long ago and has remained that way ever since then. The famous Nike 'Swoosh' that you see in the aforementioned logo or the generation-defining 'Just Do It' slogan -- they became a worldwide craze. A lot of know about these shoes and the company that makes them, right? But how many of us know about the person who created this company and the story behind it? Not too many, I'm sure. Phil Knight, the creator of Nike, is not a very social person and hadn't really ever much interested in talking about his story... until he decided to write this book.

The book came out a few years ago but I only had the chance to read it this year. In short, it is brilliant. Not something that you'd expect from a multi-billionaire mogul, surprisingly. The book is so rooted and grounded that I sometimes questioned why he never really talked much in detail about the break-through, pop culture defining shoes that they made -- Air Jordans, Cortez, Waffle, Air Max, etc. Don't get me wrong, he does talk a little about some of them but even then, he mentions about them as a process that lead to something bigger and better when it came to the company and the people in it.

Halfway through the book, I realized that this isn't a book about Phil Knight going into the details about the shoes themselves but the people behind those shoes, the vision; struggle; passion behind them. This is a book that showcases, so beautifully, the power of teamwork, staying true to the core values and mission of the company but above all -- persistence.

I would highly recommend this book.

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