Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon [Paperback]

Martin Roach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

On 1 April 1960, the first Dr. Martens boot rolled off the production line at the Griggs family farm of shoemakers in Northamptonshire, England. Today, Dr. Martens is a brand famous the world over, as iconic as Ray Bans and Levis. From the launch of the classic cherry-red eight-holer on that day in 1960, to the more recent multihued twenty-holers, Docs have been in the vanguard of style and culture for over four decades—subversive, strident, authority-baiting. Now, for the first time, the boots and their times take center stage in a book. Decade by decade, in words and pictures, Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon recounts the fascinating story of the music, the people, and the places that breathed life into the boot on its journey from work-wear to in-wear.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Music and pop culture journalist Roach (This Is It: The First Biography of the Strokes) presents a cheeky tribute to a famous shoe in this brash, colorful volume. Roach chronicles how Dr. Martens evolved from the working man's footwear of choice to punk icon supreme, using chatty prose and gritty photos of the shoes and the people who wear them. The current form of the shoe was born in 1960, although German prototypes existed earlier. An unassuming ad in a footwear industry magazine kicked things off, and, as Roach shows, Docs quickly assumed a key position in youth pop culture. Roach's account is humorous and doesn't take itself too seriously; his book is a melange of fashion, music and general cultural history. Although some bits of the book are only tangentially related to Dr. Martens-e.g., Jimi Hendrix's quote about acting crazy or Freddie Mercury's thoughts on rock stardom-everything ties together thematically, making this an interesting analysis of not only an item of clothing but of music subcultures, as well.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This colorful celebration of the Humvee of footwear sketches the progress of the shoes that "mean something" because of "their extraordinary heritage and deep association with youth culture." Created in 1960--just in time for the metamorphosis of youth culture into youth commerce--Dr. Martens boots project a tough, chunky charm in an array of styles and colors that attract "skinheads, punks, psychobillies, grebos, [and] mods" in search of durable footwear with weaponry applications. Sturdy, comfy, and lethal when applied with a brisk kick, DMs are the brainchild of Klaus Martens, who, convalescing with a broken foot, ruminated on shoes "sufficiently comfortable to relieve his piercing foot pain" yet strong enough for hard, extended use. The rest is corporate history, along with which Roach assesses who wears DMs, replete with photos of such DM devotees as former Banshees fronter Siouxsie Sue, the Mekons, and Henry Rollins, not to mention all the shoes. An easily consumed history of the arguably most kickass footwear ever. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Anova Books (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844110117
• ISBN-13: 978-1844110117
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the story of an icon, March 23, 2004

By 

Clare (Canberra, ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon (Paperback)

This book is a beautiful, colourful, illustrated history of those very cool shoes. It is more than the history of a shoe, but the history of the people who wear them. Filled with quotes and annecdotes from famed punks and other musicians. Brimming with beautiful photos with an emphasis on the footwear.
Singing to readers praise for various bands including The Who and The Clash, as well as providing a very thorough history of a number of doc-wearing subcultures. There are the stories of the skinheads, punks, mods, and more.
Steeped in tales of history from the 60s til the present, with mentions of all the things that made these decades important, from The Clockwork Orange to Madness.
This book is witty, attractive and very easy to admire.