The Sneaker Book: Anatomy of an Industry and an Icon (Bazaar Book) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Want to run faster, jump higher, play better? For years we've been told that we can achieve these grandiose goals with the help of high-performance athletic footwear. What used to be the lowly gym shoe has risen to a revered wardrobe staple. The Sneaker Book: An Anatomy of the Industry and an Icon, by journalist Tom Vanderbilt, relates the story of the sneaker in a breezy and fact-filled manner that perfectly captures the heart of the subject. Starting with a brief history of both the footwear and the $11 billion industry that now feeds off of it, Vanderbilt looks at the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and advertising that have taken the sneaker business to astronomical heights. His evaluation is augmented with a variety of charts, corporate profiles, previously published articles, and even cartoons that lend depth and shading to the topic. This informative and compact book reads like a special magazine issue devoted to a single subject, and it is indeed the first in a new series of similar books that will each focus on a popular consumer product. --Howard Rothman

From Library Journal

Americans buy over 350 million pairs of sneakers per year. This entertaining book offers plenty of insight into this $11 billion industry, including the global impactAenvironmental and humanAof sneaker production. (LJ 6/1/98).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The; illustrated edition edition (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565844068
• ISBN-13: 978-1565844063
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #289,260 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book on sneaks, but..., February 4, 2002

By	Steven Swain "friendly neighborhood mall geek" (Rocky Mount, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Sneaker Book: Anatomy of an Industry and An Icon" is well-written and excellently researched. The badly-placed black-and-white sneaker photos and its academic tone, however, offer the book as an informative but slightly boring term paper on the sneaker industry. Casual readers will probably (and rightly) want more color and certainly more sneaker photographs, but these flaws do not seriously hamper the book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Assemblage of Facts, Lousy Photo Placement, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

On the whole, I liked this informative book. Mr. Vanderbilt does an admirable job of giving us an insider's perspective on the athletic footwear industry and how it has insinuated itself into popular culture. I also enjoyed the stories and comments in the sidebars which bolster his perspective.

That said, the major thing that mars this book was the decision to place the photos of the sneakers along the spine. In terms of design, it was a poor decision, and it detracts from the text instead of enhancing it. I found myself flattening the book out as much as I could so I could see the photos, but even with that, the whole illustrative purpose of the photos was lost. If this book is ever updated, I suggest that the photos be placed somewhere that the reader can see them in their entirety.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for sneaker freaks, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

For a short book, Vanderbilt puts forth a lot of good information about athletic shoes, their history, and their meaning, especially among kids today. If you love sneakers, you'll love this book...