A relatively newer book that should definitely be on your business books to read. Sure, Nike has been criticized in the news for sweatshops in Asian factories which are sort of the backbone of their entire business model, but I don’t want to address any of that because it is not productive and would take away from a great startup story. Phil Knight is the typical geek, or “Shoe Dog” as he calls it, that has found his passion and discovered how to make money from it. When the Oregon Ducks track and field team were churning through crappily made shoes it was becoming costly for both the University and the runners so Knight wanted to find a solution. From a product idea to laying off employees to dealing with manufacturers in a foreign country Knight explains how in a lot of ways he pioneered the off-shore manufacturing game for US based companies, and how there were so many pitfalls along the way. But this is more of a story about resilience and one that argues if you want something bad enough you will find a way through the hard times. And if you don’t, you won’t be bringing in $30 billion a year like Philly Knight.