Kicks

“A lively, engaging cultural history . . . Smith’s tale teems with freebooting DIY tinkerers [and] traverses the sociocultural trend lines of our time. . . . Fascinating.”—The Oregonian
 
“Readers of sports history, popular culture, and business will be fascinated by Smith’s exciting, informative, and multifaceted narrative of the major roles the sneaker has played in U.S. branding, perceptions, and culture.”—Booklist
 
“A history that goes way beyond sports and into the streets of the youth culture . . . a cornucopia of factoids and fun asides bursting with a wealth of in-depth information on every aspect of sneakers, from their birth to their current and continuing explosive popularity.”—Kirkus Reviews

“An offbeat history of the athletic shoe world with cameo biographies of those who built it, Kicks is a sneakerhead’s dream . . . Fascinating.”—Shelf Awareness

“A fast, smooth run through the social, financial, and athletic history of the shoes that goosed the sports boom. New slogan: It’s gotta be the book!”—Robert Lipsyte, author of Sportsworld: An American Dreamland
 
“Kicks is a history of great, forgotten stories. I highly recommend that anyone who’s into sneakers and its culture read it and add it to their library.”—Dee Wells, Obsessive Sneaker Disorder
 
“A refreshing full-court run through two centuries via the sneakers we were inventing or wearing all along. From Daniel Webster to ‘Damn, Daniel,’ an entertaining account with something to say about culture, politics, and ankle support. An always fascinating book and easier to keep clean than Air Force 1s.”—Mark Chiusano, author of Marine Park