Shoe Dog

The King and the Court

Builders of empires eventually come to regard themselves as emperors, and who’s going to tell them they shouldn’t? Looking back at his life, Nike founder Phil Knight often writes as if he were a king recalling moments that seemed insignificant at the time, but turned out to be character-building or lesson-providing or profoundly fateful.

I wanted to leave a mark on the world. I wanted to win. No, that’s no right. I simply didn’t want to lose.Phil Knight

For example, Knight tells many stories of childhood or teenage buddies who loomed large for him, but who have scant impact on the practical outcomes of these stories. Keeping track of all the characters weaving in and out of the book requires flipping back and forth among pages to remember who matters and who does not.