The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory (Paperback)

~ Fries Kenny (Author) "Take off your shoes," Dr. Mendotti says..." (more)
Key Phrases: waved albatross, wetsuit booties, baby orangutan, Jerry Miller, Chiang Mai, Grand Canyon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An unusual historian, Fries wears the story of his life on his feet in specially constructed orthopedic shoes. And because many have simplified evolutionary theory into the slogan "survival of the fittest," Fries measures his own conflicted identity against the terms of that theory--and against the psychological complexities of its discoverers. For in Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, Fries recognizes a pair of intellectual adventurers whose research--now in isolation, now in concert, now in conflict--illuminates his own quest to adapt to an ever-shifting environment. Indeed, Fries never appreciates his unnaturally shaped shoes more than when they enable his otherwise-crippled feet to transport him up the trails of the Galepagos Islands, where Darwin once contemplated the natural shapes of birds and reptiles. Appreciation melds with resistance, however, when Fries attempts to reframe the Darwin-Wallace debate over sexual selection from his homosexual perspective. Few are the writers who can so deftly weave science into intensely personal reflections, compellingly reminding readers of the still unfathomable mystery of one terrestrial species.

Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Such an artful and compelling weaving together, such lovely writing. A really really great book." -- David Rakoff, author of Fraud

A beautiful account blending memory, information and insight so eloquently and uniquely. Reading this book is a rewarding absorbing experience. -- Joanna Scott, author, Various Antidotes

A beautiful and truly original book, for the quality of mind and language I found in it. Fries's reflections on adaptation led me to think in a new way about my own life of adaptations. -- Adrienne Rich

An amazing book--beautiful and unique. Kenny Fries makes dazzling connections between the most intimate details and the most sweeping panoramas, and left me changed by his insights. -- Joan Silber, author of Ideas of Heaven

Beautifully written, fascinating, incredibly original and with a great title. It says something about the human race that is truly profound. I don't know when I have read anything more pertinent or exciting. -- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Lives of Dogs

Fascinating...With incisive passion, Fries argues that the ideas of Darwin and Wallace yield insights into how disability fits into culture....People adapt in order to survive just as species do. The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory will take you on a remarkable journey of memoir, disability, and culture -- The Washington Blade, June 8, 2007

I read this book with great pleasure, delighted by the unexpected yet perfectly apt conjunctions, by the grace and economy with which the episodes from Darwin's life and key concepts of his work are transposed into a "natural history" of the self with a poet's sense of the telling detail -- Andrea Barrett, author of Ship Fever and Servants of the Map

In this quietly revolutionary book, Fries gives us his own story, side-by-side with that of Darwin's. The juxtaposition is startling, revelatory, and ultimately redemptive. Big-hearted, generous, deeply human, this is the next wave in identity politics, and you're going to love it. -- Alison Smith, author, Name All The Animals

Kenny Fries explores both "able-bodiedness" and the legacies of Darwin's theory while literally traveling the world. There is no book quite like this and no one who reads these pages will ever forget them. This is a history of our bodies and a travelogue through landscapes and cultural signs that everyone should read in our post-colonial millennium. -- Stephen Kuusisto, author, Planet of the Blind <i/>

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786720077
• ISBN-13: 978-0786720071
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #816,162 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From one poet to another..., May 23, 2007

By	Stephen A. Kuusisto "Stephen Kuusisto" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The History of My Shoes" is a poet's eye look at Darwin's world of ideas and it is simultaneously a book about inhabiting a body that requires hourly adaptations both of mind and of physical practice. This is a narrative that works against method as Darwin once worked against method and the rewards are manifested on page after page. This is a groundbreaking book for those who are interested in the history of ideas and the corresponding history of the human body.

~ Stephen Kuusisto

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read, June 4, 2007

By	Alice Ramirez (New York State) - See all my reviews

Kenny Fries' book is one of the best books I've read this year. It is fascinating, moving, funny. I immediately went back and re-read some chapters, which is something I never do. (I usually have such a large pile of books "to be read" that as soon as I finish one -- no matter how good -- I move on to the next one!) But Kenny Fries' book is hard to put down, hard to walk away from and impossible to forget. Highly recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoughful History, June 3, 2007

By	Chris Mackowski "CWMackowski" (Limestone, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you walk a mile in the shoes of Kenny Fries, you're apt to end up atop a granite mountain in Maine, inside a Buddhist temple in Thailand, on a gravel shoal at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, or on one of the Galapagos Islands.

You'd also be walking in shoes specially-molded for your feet, the sole of one built up three inches higher than the other to compensate for the uneven length of your legs.

To walk a mile in the shoes of Kenny Fries, you first have to understand the history of those shoes.

Fries' new memoir explores that history but does so in a rich, relevant, and thought-provoking way. "The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory" intertwines the story of Fries' disability with the stories of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace--the fathers of the theory of evolution--and their quest to understand the role of adaptation in the natural world.

Fries was born missing most of the bones in his legs. He has no ankles. He's missing toes. His right foot juts out from his leg at almost a ninety-degree angle. "There was no scientific explanation for this situation; no medical name for the condition," he writes.

Yet, through surgeries, with the encouragement of his parents and doctors, and with custom-made shoes, Fries learned to walk.

Just as his shoes literally help him get around in life, they also help him cover a lot of territory in his book. They serve as a powerful symbol of not only his disability but also his adaptability, the concept that sits at the crux of the book.

That's why Darwin and Wallace become so important to the larger narrative. Fries writes about their lives, their research, and their legacies with clarity and obvious respect. It's a fascinating "Intro to Evolution" for the unsciencely without boiling Darwin down to mere pithy phrases like "adapt or perish" or "survival of the fittest"--a phrase, incidentally, that Darwin didn't actually coin.

According to the theory of evolution, an individual born "different" than other individuals of the same species may hold an adaptation that increases the likelihood of long-term survival for the entire species. In other words, different is good. Variation is, in the grand scheme of things, crucial.

In that context, Fries' own process of self-reflection and discovery--his own personal evolution--take on a profound depth and insight.

"What we learn by adaptability may tell us more about the natural ways in which all of us can best flourish in an increasingly interdependent, complex, and confusing world," he writes.

To lesser degrees, Fries also explores the notion of adaptability and "normalness" by discussing his homosexuality and his Jewishness. They prove to be important components of his process of discovery because, as minority groups, homosexuals and Jews have been marginalized in ways similar to and different from people with disabilities. When Fries asks, "What role does fear play in how we think and act in the presence of variation?" the question suddenly resonates on many powerful levels.

Throughout the book, Fries achieves a narrative voice that's both strong and poetic. He gives us glimpses of his vulnerability but never comes across as "poor disabled me." Stories from the past are colored from his present awareness that he's immersed in a process of "becoming." Similarly, there is a sense of curiosity and wonder about that process and about the world in general.

"The History of My Shoes..." is simultaneously introspective and enlightening. For those readers who take the time to learn the history, they'll get a much better idea of what it would be like to walk in those shoes--and they might better understand just how wide the world is they're walking in.