Books Similar to Shoe Dog

I still remember my first impressions after reading Shoe Dog a few months after the book was released. I had not recalled reading a memoir or autobiography with that much transparency and drama since Sandra Kurtzig’s book (mentioned in my list), but I bet she would say her story pales compared to Knight’s.

5 Books Similar to Shoe Dog

Shoe Dog reads like fiction. The Hawaii trip, bad overseas partners, poor hiring practices, lack of exclusivity arrangements, and always on the brink of bankruptcy, or so it seemed. Does every startup incur that much drama in the early years? I really can’t wait to see what Hollywood does with the movie (not to be compared with Air released in 2023).

My list below is incomplete, but if you are looking for titles similar to Shoe Dog, here is a starting point:

1. Good thing I’m writing this post in 2019 because I only read Derek Siver’s Anything You Want last April. I’ve now read this short book more than once. Derek was the founder of CD Baby. He didn’t want the business to grow big. I loved this little book because, like Knight, he’s transparent with the many mistakes he made while growing his little business.
2. Mel and Patricia Ziegler are the husband-wife team who started Banana Republic and told their story in Wild Company. Similar to Siver’s book, it’s a business memoir of the startup follies of founders knowing nothing about business. Yet, they found a way to make it work.
3. I allowed my judgmental attitude to keep me from reading Arnold
   Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall for the longest time. I ultimately gave in, and I’m glad I did. You’ll see how one man wrote down goals and then set out to achieve them. Let me know your thoughts on how he chose to be paid for Twins co-starring Danny DeVito. Hollywood has never been the same.
4. Probably the closest book I can find similar to Shoe Dog is about the founding of The Home Depot. Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank was enjoyable, insightful, and hard to put down. I highly recommend it.
5. The book is old, and you’ll need to find a used copy, but my business education grew as I read CEO: Building a $400 Million Company from the Ground Up by Sandra Kurtzig. I’ll always cherish this book because it was one of the first 20 business books I ever read.

I originally answered this question on Quora, listing 26 titles plus 3 bonus books. Here, I wanted to narrow the list down to just 5. All 5 can be easily digested during a 3-month period.

What do you think? Did I get it right? What would you have included?

Title Image by Thomas Serer