In Cold Blood

This book has been on my must read list for many years. I bought it way back in high school because it dealt with crime. I’ve always been fascinated with crime books and movies. The funny thing is, when I first saw it I thought it was some contemporary piece that would be similar to any drug store paper back that you find in a convenience store. But once I looked at who wrote it; Truman Capote, I just had to buy it. Besides being known for his high-pitched voice, Capote is a brilliant writer who has written other amazing novels such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Other Voices, Other Rooms. Although this is a novel based on a true even, (the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas) Capote decides to tell it from the perspective of the town’s people and the actual murderers. Capote demonstrates his talent of how the written language can express sentiment by writing sentences that seem genius when he puts them into words. His style of writing is easy to understand and concise, which allows for characters that are believable and important to exist. While he has been criticized for extending the truth about what really happened, his approach in how he wrote his novel is what I value the most. Focusing on the murderers of the Clutter family, Dick and Perry, Capote takes an unbiased approach to telling their story. One would assume that a story like this would make Dick and Perry into monsters that cannot be related to or understood. Yet it is Capote’s honestly that makes these characters, despite their evil deeds worth reading about. I think its part of the human condition to assume that the existence of fairness in this world should be about what one deserves. For example, people that commit a crime should be punished. However what is harder to accept is what follows, that this same criminal deserves to be judged in a fair trail. And I think this is what Capote has done, for as chilling as the violent acts have been, he has given these same individuals a chance to tell their story in a world that preaches balance through fairness.

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blood-Truman-Capote/dp/0375507906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305852374&sr=1-1

Driven From Within; Michael Jordan

Title: Driven From Within
Author, Editor: Mark Vancil
Publisher: Atria
Driven From Within was released around the same time that the Air Jordan XX sneaker hit retail stores. At the time, the book reflected on the 20 years since the Air Jordan line had been created. It not only talked about the past and future of the brand, but went deeper by providing exclusive interviews with the people that helped create the brand. The book also comes with 2 foldout posters, various inspirational quotes by Michael Jordan, and numerous pictures including sneaker sketches. The combination of Tinker Hatfield interviews and pictures of his sneaker sketches is my favorite part of the book. Tinker Hatfield has been the lead Air Jordan sneaker designer since the Air Jordan III and has designed most of the sneaker line.


In his interviews he provides a detailed background as to where he got the inspiration for all of his designs. In one interview he talks about the day when he first showed Michael the Air Jordan III, at a time when Michael was unsure of whether to extend his contract with Nike. His design was so amazing that Michael decided to stay with Nike, and thus Tinker was credited with saving the Air Jordan line, and more importantly Nike. In another interview he talks about what went into designing the Air Jordan XI. Here you could see how creative Tinker can be by taking inspirations for the XI’s design from things such as high-end backpacks, the Denver International Airport, and even a yellow lawn mower. It’s one of those books that really remind’s me of how much I love sneakers and especially Air Jordan’s. This book does a nice job of describing how each Air Jordan sneaker was created and I highly recommend it for any sneaker fan.


Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Driven-Within-Michael-Jordan/dp/B001SAREBE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292464167&sr=1-1

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

When deciding on a book to read I always pick a topic that I know very little about. I try to live by the Voltaire quote in reference to trying new things, "If we don't find anything pleasant at least we shall find something new." So in keeping with this point of view I decided to read a book about the fashion industry; Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. I first heard of Dana Thomas (the book’s author) when she was on a television show discussing the topic of Hermès bags. Since she was also promoting her new book and her expertise on the subject seemed really insightful I decided to read her book. With modern society being bombarded with ad’s everywhere you go it’s almost impossible to not recognize the luxury brands this book makes reference to such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton. So not being able to follow along with the topic of the book was never an issue for me.

Her book does an excellent job at summarizing the history of where and how a lot of these fashion houses began. She then goes on to discuss how these houses have evolved into multi-billion luxury brands that are known globally. For Thomas however, this success has come with an unfavourable price tag; mainly that quality has been watered down in favour of record profits. This all began when luxury brands started selling their business to large investment groups that saw an opportunity to make a profit. Their investment started to yield profit when they started offering purses, sun glasses, scarfs, wallets and ready to wear fashion to what she calls middle market consumers in an attempt to allow them to live a temporary luxury dream. The creation of allowing this middle market consumer to purchase luxury brand accessories has more than doubled the profit of these fashion houses. To further increase profit and capitalize on this sales boom luxury brands started cutting corners by using cheaper materials, outsourcing their production into China, and licensing their brand name to outside factories.

One of the issues she mentions in the book that was insightful for me was her investigation into the black market of fake luxury brands. Unlike other books that just tell you fake’s or knockoffs are bad to buy, she actually explains why it’s wrong and how its harming people. For example she tells the story of a sweatshop owner in China that would actually wound the legs of child workers so that they would be unable to escape, and would be forced to work. Hearing stuff like this has actually enlightened me to be a voice against knockoffs and the black market. I’m sure once people see where and how these products are made they would think twice before buying.

When I finished the book it made me feel as if anyone that bought luxury products today would be buying into an image and not actual luxury. This theory is proven when I see people buying wallets that cost over $800 and purses that cost more than a car. Of course I would be lying if I said I was turned off of luxury brands after reading this book. There is still one luxury brand that I believe has not changed their belief that the quality of their products should be more important than profits, which is Hermès. With most purses being made with the best materials in the world by the best craftsman’s and then having to wait years for one to be made for you I believe they will always be a company to be admired (though I doubt I’ll ever be able to afford anything they make). And so I would recommend this book to anyone that has always loved the fashion industry and would like to get to know more about it.

Sneaker Wars

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. It displays a picture of an Adidas Gazelle sneaker in marine blue suede with white leather highlights and a pair of Puma Suede sneakers in red ribbon suede with white highlights. I have been buying various types of Adidas and Puma’s for many years now and so I instantly wanted to know what this book had to say about them. This book tells the story of the sneaker war that developed between the sneaker brands Adidas and Puma. The most interesting part of these two brands is that the creators are both brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. The book starts off by telling the story of how the Dassler family lived in the small German town of Herzogenaurach, when suddenly both brothers were called to join the First World War. When they returned, Adolf or “Adi” decided to build a small shoe production company using debris from what the army had left behind. Three years later in 1923 his older brother Rudolf decided to join him in his production and form Gebrüder Dassler. Adi would design and create the shoes, while Rudolf would handle the business side of the company.

Unfortunately over the years the Nazi movement started to grow and their success came from supplying the army with spikes. During this time Adi got married to a girl named Käthe, and Rudolf married a girl named Friedl. Eventually the Nazi movement, which both brothers did not embrace with warmth, forced them to join the war again. However, Adi was released early while Rudolf was forced to stay behind causing him to believe that Adi along with Käthe (who he believed was hostile towards him) were trying to oust him from the shoe company. After the war the years that followed contained a series of misunderstandings, deceptions, and accusations that created animosity resulting in both brothers having to split the company. Their feud also divided Herzogenaurach in two by placing family members and employees against each other. At one end Adi decided to name his shoe company Adidas, combining his name and surname together. At the other end Rudolf also wanted to name his company using a combination of his name (Ruda) however he settled on the name Puma instead.

In order to distinguish itself as a quality made brand, Adi decided to add three white stripes to his shoes, which not only acted as a logo but also strengthen the sides of the shoes. Rudolf also placed a logo on his shoes; a stripe (Formstripe) that ran across the shoe and would become thinner towards the heel. Although initially Puma sales rose rapidly, what ultimately gave Adidas the advantage was Adi’s friendship with Sepp Herberger, Germany’s national football coach. This friendship allowed Adi to supply the German national team with Adidas cleats for the 1954 World Cup. Referred to as “The Miracle of Bern” Germany went on to win the World Cup, and provided the world a chance to see Adidas. Observing the power that an athlete wearing a particular shoe could have for sales of a shoe, both Adi and Rudolf began a contest to see who could get more athletes wearing their shoes. But as both Adi and Rudolf became older, their son’s took over the struggle to outwit the other. Horst Dassler the son of Adi took over for his father, while Armin Dassler the son of Rudolf partially took over for his father. Their competition would be most extreme in the Olympics and World Cup, where they would try to bamboozle each other, and even illegally pay athletes to wear their shoes.

As both these companies grew bigger and more successful, their feud would not allow them to concentrate on more important issues. Both of them suffered from various issues such as; not being able to deliver their products on time, focusing too much on the European market while ignoring the American, manufacturing their products in Europe, expanding their distribution rights uncoordinatedly, over spending on endorsements, being too arrogant to listen to their customer’s feedback, and brushing off competition from smaller shoe companies such as Blue Ribbon Sports. Ignoring all these issues ultimately caught up with them in the mid 80’s when Blue Ribbon Sports who would become Nike, would take away the American sneaker market from Adidas. By the time Horst realized that Adidas sales were dropping because of Nike and Reebok, it was too late to do anything. Although he did strike back at Nike (promoting Adidas with Run DMC), it wasn’t enough to topple them. Adidas and Puma’s decent caused each Dassler family to face bankruptcy offering them no choice but to sell off their companies.

The part of this book that I really enjoyed was when it spoke about the work that Peter Moore and Rob Strasser had done for Adidas. Both Moore and Strasser had just left Nike when they joined Adidas. They were very talented because they had helped launch Nike Air and Air Jordan when they worked for Nike. As soon as they came over to Adidas they demonstrated their talents by launching new athletic concepts such as Equipment, creating a new logo, and trying to organize Adidas America. Lamentably this was short lived because in 1993 Rob Strasser died from a heart attack. Fortunately over the years, both Puma and Adidas have been able to stay afloat and regain some control of the sports wear market. Puma has found success by mixing sports wear with high fashion, and investing in Formula One. Adidas has found success by buying out Reebok, getting both the NFL and NBA license, and attainting endorsement deals with superstars such as David Beckham. I really enjoyed this book because it pointed out the problems that caused the downfall of Adidas and Puma. It also serves as a great warning to Nike, that history can repeat itself if they follow the same mistakes that Adidas and Puma did.

Title: Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport
Written by Barbara Smit
Pictures are provided by Sneaker Wars
Amazon link to buy:http://www.amazon.com/Sneaker-Wars-Brothers-Founded-Business/dp/B002UXS09I/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284776154&sr=1-1