Just Do It: The Nike Spirit in the Corporate World

Given the devotion to the product displayed by employees and customers alike, readers of this corporate history of Nike, which is based in Beaverton, Ore., will need to keep reminding themselves that the object of such adoration are athletic shoes (don't call them sneakers). With access to Nike's top executives, including founder Phil Knight, Katz ( Home Fires ) presents a vivid picture of what life is like inside a company that has grown from a small manufacturer of running shoes in the late 1970s to the giant of the athletic shoe industry with annual sales of $4 billion. A key to its growth has been innovative advertising that features well-known sports figures, who through the commercials became even bigger stars. The best-known case in point is Michael Jordan, who soared to mythical proportions on the wings of his basketball talent and Nike commercials, and the Jordan-Nike relationship is a major focus of the book. While Katz does not shy away from discussing the many controversies that have sprung up around Nike--payments to college coaches, a total sports management service for athletes and the use of cheap labor in Southeast Asia--he did have access to Nike officials and produces, on the whole, a pro-Nike spin. Still, Katz's book provides a compelling look at how big-time sports and big business have become intertwined. (June)