The first cultural history of America's most popular footwear, and an eye-opening look at an $11-billion-a-year industry, The Sneaker Book is an entertaining, informative look at the economic and pop cultural factors surrounding these globally produced All-American icons. Supplemented by charts, statistics, and graphics, The Sneaker Book documents the costs and profits of the $11-billion-a-year sneaker business on every level. Literary excerpts help put America's craze for "kicks" into context. The Sneaker Book swooshes past the hype, puts the numbers on the table, and takes a fresh look at familiar--if unexamined--footwear.
Tom Vanderbilt writes on design, technology, architecture, science, and many other topics. He is author of "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)" published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf, and "Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America," published in 2002 by Princeton Architectural Press. He is contributing editor to I.D. and Print magazines, contributing writer at Design Observer, and writes for many publications, ranging from Wired to the New York Times to Men's Vogue to the Wilson Quarterly. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
