Lena's Reviews > Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

When I lived in Oregon in the '80's, I would never have believed that I would someday have something in common with the creator of Nike. Having co-founded my own shoe company 9 years ago, however, I found many aspects of this book eerily relatable.

Like many memoirs, this one got off to a slow start for me. Knight spends more time on his formative years than seems warranted - while I understand that his pre-Nike world travels were life changing for him, his depictions of them did not move the story forward in the way I think he intended.

Once he begins the tale of his decision to import a Japanese running shoe, however, the book became much more of a page turner. I had no idea how fraught those early years were, with Knight working full time as an accountant while attempting to get his fledgling company off the ground.

He discusses his partnership with coaching legend Bill Bowerman in detail, which was a critical factor to Nike's success. But Knight's own finance background was equally important - he was constantly skating the edge of liquidity as stodgy bankers balked at financing his fast growth, but he managed to pull it off by understanding the critical importance of who needed to get paid first.

As Knight talks about his and Bowerman's decision to start making their own shoes better suited to "American" feet, I found myself cringing in frustration. I believe that many of the ideas he and Bowerman popularized in athletic shoes, including narrower toe boxes, additional cushioning and elevated heels, were solutions in search of a problem that have not done us any favors.

Despite my sharp philosophical differences with Nike products, however, I sympathized greatly with Knight's journey and struggles as a founder. Making stuff is incredibly hard, and Knight's fortitude in the face of constant adversity in those early years is truly inspiring.