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Shoe Dog - Phil Knight

There is something about this book - a quality that I am unable to put a word to. When you read this book, the story of Nike - and unlike other much heard about stories in the tech world, this is a story that I had never heard - there is a lot of reality in it.

And thats what stands out - that it is real. Very very real. Real emotions. Candid. There is grit. There is struggle. There is tenacity. There are stories of breaking down. Going down. Not giving up. The one thing that endures is 'not giving up'. Ever.

The story is of someone - Phil Knight (and his band of co-founders and the core team) and how he and his team get to where to got to. And to a large extent about Phil holds it all together. And the journey with its ups and downs and how they continued to stay there despite numerous obstacles professional and personal. About how each of them sweated it out to make it.

As I read the book, I was unable to put it down. Shoes? Yes, a story of shoes - unputdownable. The narrative, the pace, the events - it kept pulling me back because I wanted to know what happened.

The construct of the book is also interesting with some Zen like quotes. I really can't say more - this book is worth a read for every aspiring entrepreneur out there.

Nikes story has it all. Ups. Downs. Many ups. Many downs. But at every down, they come up...and that I suppose is what makes heroes out of ordinary people. 

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