In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after bac
The tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII ofEngland (1509-1547) is one of the most fascinating in all history,not least for his marriage to six extraordinary women. In thisaccessible work of brilliant scholarship, Alison Weir draws onearly biographies, letters, memoirs, account books, and diplomaticreports to bring these women to life. Catherine of Aragon emergesas a staunch though misguided woman of principle; Anne Boleyn, anambitious adventuress with a penchant for vengeance; Jane Seymour,a strong-minded matriarch in the making; Anne of Cleves, agood-natured and innocent woman naively unaware of the courtintrigues that determined her fate; Catherine Howard, anempty-headed wanton; and Catherine Parr, a warm-bloodedbluestocking who survived King Henry to marry a fourth time.
He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court -- but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself to become a prodigy, an inner conflict that would define him. Now, in his beautiful, haunting autobiography, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by such conflicts. Agassi makes us feel his panic as an undersized seven-year-old in Las Vegas, practicing all day under the obsessive gaze of his violent father. We see him at thirteen, banished to a Florida tennis camp. Lonely, scared, a ninth-grade dropout, he rebels in ways that will soon make him a 1980s icon. By the time he turns pro at sixteen, his new look promises to change tennis forever, as does his lightning fast return. And yet, despite his raw talent, he struggles early on. We feel his confusion as he los
After a brief hiatus, Sonny Paine is back with anotherjam-packed, daring issue reminiscent of the time you bought steakfrom Mad Cow Harry's. With a handful of new writers and severalreturning ones whose talents, in the fashion of cheese, have onlyincreased with age, Issue Two will have you on your knees, achingfor the good old days when you couldn't be brought to tears by asingle piece of prose.
This is the definitive biography of music legend Johnny Cashby the leading authority on the star. This major new biography is afull and frank account of the late country legend Johnny Cash(1932-2003), an artist who ranks with Elvis Presley and FrankSinatra as one of the 20th century's major singers. Written byMichael Streissguth, a leading authority on the singer, and theauthor of "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" and "Ring of Fire", it isthe first full-length biography of Johnny Cash since ChristopherWren's was published more than 30 years ago. This biography isunauthorized - though written with the full backing of Cathy Cash(Cash's daughter from his first marriage) - and provides a far morerounded view of the singer than previous books such "A Man CalledCash", which stops short at the final stage of his life, and Cash'sautobiography which has many gaps. Although a fan of Cash,Streissguth is not afraid to approach the less romantic side of hissubject. The book is propelled by Streissguth's unrivalledknow
