Chucks!: The Phenomenon of Converse: Chuck Taylor All Stars

by Hal Peterson

Book Overview

Hal Peterson takes an in-depth look at the history, significance, and magic of "Chucks," as legions of enthusiasts call them. Though they have a simple, classic style, the 150 color photos make clear... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1510702210
• ISBN13: 9781510702219
• Release Date: August 2016
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.2" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

Chucks book

Great book and well written. Full of wonderful photography of the Chucks in both high tops and low cut style. Filled to the max with info and easy to read stories from folks all across the country. Great item for any guy (or gal) who is fascinated with Chucks and the history of this American icon of a shoe. Get the book and a lace up your favorite high tops Chucks and enjoy the reading.

Awesome

Great book about the greatest sneakers ever made...Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars. I am a fan of the black hi top Chucks. They are the best.

Good but could have been better

I was very excited in the last fall when I heard that a book about "Chucks" was being published. I raced to get my copy quickly, and had it within the first month. It was a very fast read and had some great information and cool pictures. However, I would have liked to see more "vintage" photos from the "Chucks as basketball shoes" era. Also, I thought there was perhaps too much focus on the classic black chucks (although admittingly they are by far the most popular style. There was also a huge error in the book. The author claims that "Optical white" was the second Chuck Taylor model to be released. Actually, unbleached is clearly the older of the two. Optical weren't invented until at least the 1960s and were still pretty rare into the 1990s, although they are much more common than the unbleached now (which are still a "core color"). It was clearly the unbleached and NOT the Optical that Mr. Taylor liked the best. I suppose Peterson was confused because advertisements before the 1960s were never taken from photographs and what was drawn looked like optical white. Peterson's comments about "nothing saying 1950s like Chuck Taylors" are also off-base. Although they existed at the time, it is quite difficult to find any TV or movie clips prior to the 1970s that feature them (oddly one of the most famous examples-Opie Taylor on the extremely popular Andy Griffith Show, was not mentioned in the book). A better way to phrase it would have been "nothing says "pretending to be the 1950s like Chuck Taylors." Chances are if a movie or TV show made in the last 35 years is set in the 1950s or 1960s, you will probably see some guy wearing Chucks. If he isn't a basketball player, it's probably not realistic. It would be interesting to explore exactly why so many people in charge of wardrobe for these retro movies/TV shows seem to think all the guys wore Chucks in those days. Overall, a pretty good book and I've ordered many pairs of shoelaces from the website.

Awesome book about the coolest sneakers ever.

Converse made and continues to make the best and coolest sneakers ever. This book tells the story of Chucks in words and lots of color pictures. A must have for every Converse fan.

Chucks!!

Chucks are an American staple, and Chucks is a great guide to the world of Chucks. Why are people so loyal to their Chucks? What are some special Chuck designs? This is a book for anyone who has every owned a pair.