Pitch Invasion Paperback – January 1, 2007

Very interesting book even if you are not into sports. Gives the reader an understanding of how Nazi Germany compelled so many good, responsible people to go along with the government. I was amazed!Also, the story of how certain businesses (like Adidas and Puma) grew and developed was fascinating. Although I am a person who is neither interested in sports nor business, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. What a surprise!

Very interesting with much historic data Highly recommended

The story about adidas and its rivals is told in a gripping novel-like manner making it an absolute page-turner. Definitely worth the time!

Great Read

The story narrated in this book (the birth of adidas and Puma, their growing phase inside a family feud, the arrival of Nike, the fall of the German brands and their 90's resurrection) is really interesting and it can certainly be a study case in any top business program at any university. The book is written in such an appealing way that if you are sports enthusiastic it would be impossible for you to stop reading it. I really have to recommend this book.

The author is a brilliant researcher and the level of detail is stunning. However, in comparison with the great books about Nike (Swoosh, written by insiders) and the superb recent one by Nike founder Phil Knight, this is flat and lacking in emotion. Horst Dassler was obviously a major character, and the sheer tide of emotion of the sports shoe industry - in which I worked for many years - does not come across. The key players in Adidas, Nike and the rest were almost religiously messianic in their zeal, and the author feels like an outsider to this. If you were actually at those Sports Shows years ago like ISPO in Munich and the Supershow at Atlanta, you would have witnessed this tangible crusading personality of the shoe dogs. This is potentially a great story - and surely a movie - that deserves to be told in much richer colour. If you're a sneaker freak though, it is the essential Adidas book and I'm grateful that someone spent years in research to garner the facts. It needs a more emotive author to capture the passion, particularly that of the Adidas/Puma fraternal rivalry of Adi Dassler and Rudi Dassler.

A fascinating story which points out that Modern Football probably came along when there was big money in it. Someone snap up the film rights because this is like Facebook where the brothers were at war instead of Harvard classmates. It could be the best story of the 20th Century. If only adidas could invent an item of clothing to stop athletes taking drugs....

A must-read for anybody who wants to learn about the tragic family background of what could have otherwise been one sports business instead of two and how a family feud laid down the foundation for the transition of sport from a once idealistic playful past-time to a multi-billion dollar business. "Sneaker Wars" is the American version of this book.

I had read the book before and made the mistake of lending it out... and never seeing it again.Unfortunately what I got with this recent purchase was some pre-publication review edition of the book, which a) according to the terms in the front of the book shouldn't even be re-sold, and b) wasn't what I was after which was the final edition with the photos etc. It was in good condition, so I can't complain about that, and it arrived promptly, but just not the version I wanted.

Manages to combine lot's of historical fact against the backdrop of family drama, business deception and double-cross. A fascinating insight into the genesis and massive power of the big sporting brands - great book.