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Original Title:	Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There
ISBN:	0887306225 (ISBN13: 9780887306228)
Edition Language:	English

Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There

J.B. Strasser

Paperback | Pages: 576 pages

Rating: 3.99 | 247 Users | 16 Reviews

Mention Regarding Books Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There

Title	:	Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There
Author	:	J.B. Strasser
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 576 pages
Published	:	April 28th 1993 by Harper Business (first published January 1st 1991)
Categories	:	Business. Nonfiction. Sports

Relation To Books Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There

After finishing this book I don't really know what to think or say about it. On one hand, it's a fantastic, gripping book that gives a great behind the scenes insight into the cultural phenomena that is Nike. A real roller coaster.

On the other hand, by its end the book comes off as possibly being a slur/airing of grievances against Knight himself by one of Nike's key men, book author JB Strasser. Strasser helped grow the company before ultimately falling away from its culture.

The runaway train-esque development of that culture, from start-up to $3bln corporation, was portrayed by the book as being like the rapid growth of a monster. The all consuming monster dominated the lives of key men, chewing them up and spitting them out.

The portrayal of this by Strasser seems to me to revolve around portraying Knight's leadership (or lack thereof) as increasingly distant and disinterested. Throughout the book, Nike's leader is chastised for a general lack of direct leadership or personal interest in those who stake much of their being in the company.

The book almost seems to portray Nike's development as a downward spiral. This portrayal, to me at least, seems to come from Strasser's perspective of his own transition from living and breathing Nike as a part of the mom-and-pop, run-and-gun upstart that it was, to then feeling alienated by the culture generated between the mega-company it became and the new generation of Nike staffers who gravitated towards it.

Central to this, and an intriguing factor in gaining insight into Knight's 'genius', is his portrayed obsession with Japanese culture and management style. Although the book was gripping, it was also fleeting in the way that it really provided little insight into this and the perspective of Knight himself.

But of course, this is not Knight's book, as it's Strasser's. So if I had the time then I would be sure to read Knight's story next in order to establish some kind of a balance between the two sides.

But perhaps make your own mind up about all of that by giving the book a read. It's definitely worth it.
Be warned, it is a beast at 650+ pages but I didn't personally help myself that by taking notes for a class.

Please feel free to comment if you've also read the book and have any thoughts about what I've said.

Rating Regarding Books Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There

Ratings: 3.99 From 247 Users | 16 Reviews

Comment On Regarding Books Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There

Good background knowledge, better read together with Knights shoedog and NIkes annual report from 1981 to 1988.

After finishing this book I don't really know what to think or say about it. On one hand, it's a fantastic, gripping book that gives a great behind the scenes insight into the cultural phenomena that is Nike. A real roller coaster.On the other hand, by its end the book comes off as possibly being a slur/airing of grievances against Knight himself by one of Nike's key men, book author JB Strasser. Strasser helped grow the company before ultimately falling away from its culture.The runaway

Compelling reading for entrepreneurs. Could this ever happen again, or was it just the times that allowed this kind of success?

This was an interesting book. I read some of it last summer and then got away from it and came back to it in March. I think the Nike story is very rick and gives a lot of good perspective to fellow entrepreneurs or others curious about the evolution of the brand we all know so well. The book was an easy read but from my perspective there was some excessive detail. Overall it is a great read and I recommend it.

So damn good. Love the Nike brand even more now. 'Merica.

It's been a few years, but I thought this was a great book that highlighted the culture that has revolutionized footwear and sports.

The overall book did a fantastic job of explaining the birth of Nike, it's early struggles and success leading up to the behemoth that it became. Overall, it was a fantastic read and wonderfully the build up of everything, but sometimes jumped around a little too much with the Nike timeline and introduced too many people to realistically keep track of without some sort of characters sheet. Other than some small confusions, however, it was a wonderfully written novel and really does tell the