Phil Knight│The Art of Victory

Founder of Nike, of which he was CEO from 1964 to 2004 then chairman of the board of directors until 2016, Phil Knight, the man behind the "swoosh", the comma, has always remained in the shadows , and his life a mystery. Finally, he tells his story in a surprising, humble, uncompromising, funny, inspiring autobiography that will fascinate sports fans as well as those interested in economics, business and management.

Barely out of business school, young Phil has a vision: he will start his own business and import high-end Japanese sneakers to the United States, but at low prices. He borrows $50 from his father for this. That first year, 1963, he sold $800 worth of shoes, which he stored in the trunk of his Plymouth Vaillant. Today, Nike's annual revenue exceeds $30 billion. Nike is the ultimate reference, the success story that inspires all startupers, a global brand whose logo, the famous "swoosh", symbol of grace and greatness, is one of the rare icons that we recognize in the four corners of the planet.

It all starts with one of those pivotal moments that many young adults experience. Phil is 24 years old, goes backpacking around the world, crosses Asia, Europe and Africa, and asks himself the big questions of his age. His answer sounds obvious: he will not do like everyone else. Turning his back on the classic way of big business, he will go solo, determined to create something new, dynamic, different.

Nothing goes without saying, of course, and the course will be strewn with pitfalls. But the mistrust of the bankers, the moments of discouragement, the ferocity of its competitors, the betrayals and the accidents along the way are also the salt and the richness of an adventure and a destiny crowned by exceptional triumphs, rescues on the razor's edge, and sublimated by an extraordinary talent for cultivating "the art of victory". A talent and an art that also rely heavily on people: at the twilight of this adventure, Knight remembers with emotion the encounters that marked him, from Bill Bowman, his first sports coach in athletics, irascible and charismatic, and the first employees of the company, an improbable gathering of misfits and scientists, up to the ambassadors who will make the brand shine in the world, from Michael Jordan to Tiger Woods via Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and LeBron James.

Together, because they believed in the power of sport, they transformed the vision of a 24-year-old post-adolescent, and created a brand and a culture whose influence will be global.