In 1817, the Duke of Wellington--freshly back from beating Napoleon--found his old boots most uncomfortable when worn with new-fangled trousers. He instructed his shoemaker to make a simple modification to his footwear. . . and the rest is history. Told here with a unique blend of humor, anecdote, and fact, the history of the Wellington boot is also the history of the world. It is an epic tale, encompassing the rise and fall of empires, corporate...