Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

I have began reading Shoe Dog by Phil Night. The book is an autobiography following the creation of Nike starting back in the early 60's. I am interested in this story as it follows one of the largest company's formations through its failures and successes and has a constant theme of sports.

So far, I have read the first chapter -- chapters are broken up by one-year segments -- which sets up the history of Mr. Knight and why he wants to create a running shoe company. His journey begins in Oregon at his family house where he receives a loan from his father to travel the world and pitch an idea to export running shoes from Japan. Mr. Knight uses his world-journey as an extended metaphor to explore the meaning of life, and through his inner-search he finds his passion is to create a company.

Prior to Nike's formation, the only competition in the shoe industry was the foreign-based Adidas, which had reluctant acceptance in the United States. As many people are familiar with, Nike has a large presence in Oregon because Phil Knight actually attended The University of Oregon as a track athlete. Because he was familiar with the American market he felt that his expertise, and Standford Master's education, would serve him well in his entrepreneurial adventures. 

Overall, moving forward I hope to learn more about a staple company in the American sports market. I have heard that the Nike story is very inspirational as the company failed many times yet continued to pursue the end-goal. I believe that this book will be a powerful story of perseverance in a field which I am interested in.

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