A celebration of the iconic shoes and superstars who have defined the sport for decades, A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers tells the story of hoops as only shoes can. The ultimate book for both hoops fans and sneaker obsessives, A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers is an exciting and fascinating look at the sport written with authority and experience by former Complex and SLAM magazine editor Russ Bengtson. From primeval Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars to baroque Reebok Pumps and myth-making Air Jordans to super-high-tech Nike Adapt BBs, each chapter breaks down how a specific sneaker defined an era of basketball, transformed the culture, or changed the game. With full-color sneaker photographs and detailed illustrations throughout, the book is a kaleidoscopic celebration of the players, styles, and iconic moments that have shaped hoops both on and off the court. Topics include: Walt Frazier's PUMA Clydes and the New York City street game; Michael Jordan's first signature Air Jordan and the birth of the modern global basketball superstar; Nike Air Swoopes and the evolution of the women’s game; sneaker tech and the rise of retro; and much more.

The life and legacy of pioneering international basketball superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, a two‑time NBA champion whose Hall of Fame career forever changed the game, both in the United States and around the globe—from the New York Times bestselling author of Giannis, Mirin Fader. It’s now the norm for NBA and collegiate teams to have international players dotting their rosters. The Olympics are no longer a gimme for Team USA. Both via fans streaming from all over the globe and leagues starting in countries throughout the world, the international presence of the game of basketball is a force to be reckoned with. That all started with Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon. He was the first international player to win the MVP, which is hard to believe now considering the last time an American‑born player won it was in 2018. Award-winning hoops journalist Mirin Fader explores this phenomenal shift through the lens of what Olajuwon accomplished throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Dream ignites nostalgia for Phi Slama Jama and “the Dream Shake,” while also exploring the profound influence of Olajuwon’s commitment to Islam on his approach to life and basketball, and how his devotion to his faith inspired generations of Muslim people around the world. Olajuwon’s ongoing work with NBA Africa, his status as an international ambassador for the game, and his consultations with today’s brightest stars, from LeBron James to Giannis Antetokounmpo, brings the story right up to the present moment, and beyond. Synthesizing hundreds of interviews and in-depth research, Fader provides the definitive biography of Olajuwon as well as a crucial understanding of his pivotal impact on the ever-shifting game.

The myth of the natural black athlete is widespread, though it's usually only talked about when a sports commentator or celebrity embarrasses himself by bringing it up in public. Those gaffes are swiftly decried as racist, but apart from their link to the long history of ugly racial stereotypes about black people - especially men - they are also...

"Meticulously researched and beautifully produced." Times Literary Supplement "A big and beautiful book." Journal of British Studies "A definitive history of the sports shoe." Amber Butchart, fashion historian "A necessary book [and] a great read." Samuel Smallidge, Archivist, Converse "Both educational and entertaining." Scene Point Blank The story of the sneaker's rise from the first Victorian tennis shoes to the Nike Air Max and beyond. Moving from the athletic field to the shopping mall, Thomas Turner tells a fresh story of the evolution of the sports shoe against the changing landscape of society, sport, fashion, industry, and technology. The Sports Shoe takes us on a journey from the first Victorian tennis shoes to the sneaker of today, to the adidas Superstar and the innovative technologies of Nike Air Max. Featuring newly uncovered archival material and historic images showcasing key personalities, vintage marketing and common perceptions of this hugely desirable product, this book is a must-have for any sneaker collector, historian of popular culture, or anyone interested in the place of athletic footwear in our lives today.

How has technology challenged the notion of unadulterated athletic performance? We like to think of sports as elemental: strong bodies trained to overcome height, weight, distance; the thrill of earned victory or the agony of defeat in a contest decided on a level playing field. But in Game Changer, Rayvon Fouché argues that sports have been radically shaped by an explosion of scientific and technological advances in materials, training, nutrition, and medicine dedicated to making athletes stronger and faster. Technoscience, as Fouché dubs it, increasingly gives the edge (however slight) to the athlete with the latest gear, the most advanced training equipment, or the performance-enhancing drugs that are hardest to detect. In this revealing book, Fouché examines a variety of sports paraphernalia and enhancements, from fast suits, athletic shoes, and racing bicycles to basketballs and prosthetic limbs. He also takes a hard look at gender verification testing, direct drug testing, and the athlete biological passport in an attempt to understand the evolving place of technoscience across sport. In this book, Fouché: • Examines the relationship among sport, science, and technology • Considers what is at stake in defining sporting culture by its scientific knowledge and technology • Provides readers and students with an informative and engagingly written study Focusing on well-known athletes, including Michael Phelps, Oscar Pistorius, Caster Semenya, Usain Bolt, and Lance Armstrong, Fouché argues that technoscience calls into question the integrity of games, records, and our bodies themselves. He also touches on attempts by sporting communities to regulate the use of technology, from elite soccer's initial reluctance to utilize goal-line technology to automobile racing's endless tweaking of regulatory formulas in an attempt to blur engineering potency and reclaim driver skill and ability. Game Changer will change the way you look at sports—and the outsized impact technoscience has on them.

Sneakers in the 1800s were just a canvas upper and a rubber sole. Today athletic shoes are a multi-billion dollar industry. In Sneaker Century, readers will analyze the history of sneakers and their impact on athletics, fashion, culture, and more.

Looks at the science behind creating a pair of comfortable, lightweight, and well-designed sneakers.

With extensive reporting and engrossing storytelling, Jim Baker and Bernard Corbett give us the scenes of one of the NFL's most successful and popular franchises. Interviews with Giants legends who participated in these historic moments put us behind closed doors in the commissioner's office during a fixed game in 1946, in the backfield wit Frank Gifford as the Giants advance to the championship in 1958, and in the huddle with Eli Manning as he diagrams the play that would result in the deciding touchdown in the 2008 Super Bowl. With an eye for memorable details and historical significance, Baker and Corbett let the players themselves tell the war stories that all Giants fans love to relive, and in so doing, construct an engrossing and exciting history of the team and the sport. The book will also feature revealing statistical sidebars and fresh analysis of the games that throw new light on the history of the team.

This concise manual is for sports medicine specialists who want to effectively prescribe footwear and orthotics for the athlete. The book provides a logical approach designed to maximize performance and minimize injury. In addition to the fundamentals, including athletic foot types, basic biomechanics, and gait evaluation, the text also addresses the assessment and prescription of shoes, inserts, and orthotics. The work covers new technologies and sports-specific recommendations as well. By presenting essential information in a convenient and easily accessible format, this book will prove to be invaluable for sports medicine physicians, podiatrists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and other specialists when making footwear recommendations for athletes.