{"product_id":"in-the-kingdom-of-shoes-zachary-austin-doleshal-9781487524449","title":"In the Kingdom of Shoes: Bata, Zl?, Globalization, 1894-1945","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the world's largest sellers of footwear, the Bata Company of Zl?, Moravia has a remarkable history that touches on crucial aspects of what made the world modern. In the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, the company Americanized its production model while also trying to Americanize its workforce. It promised a technocratic form of governance in the chaos of postwar Czechoslovakia, and during the Roaring Twenties, it became synonymous with rationalization across Europe and thus a flashpoint for a continent-wide debate. While other companies contracted in response to the Great Depression, Bata did the opposite, becoming the first shoe company to unlock the potential of globalization.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Bata expanded worldwide, it became an example of corporate national indifference, where company personnel were trained to be able to slip into and out of national identifications with ease. Such indifference, however, was seriously challenged by the geopolitical crisis of the 1930s, and by the cusp of the Second World War, Bata management had turned nationalist, even fascist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eIn the Kingdom of Shoes\u003c\/i\u003e unravels the way the Bata project swept away tradition and enmeshed the lives of thousands of people around the world in the industrial production of shoes. Using a rich array of archival materials from two continents, the book answers how Bata's rise to the world's largest producer of shoes challenged the nation-state, democracy, and Americanization.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Zachary Austin Doleshal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1487524447\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781487524449\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/14\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.98w x 0.79d","brand":"Zachary Austin Doleshal","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43990434251007,"sku":"9781487524449","price":42.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3f3a8475-68d3-4ec1-b7c0-ed0a880bc008.jpg?v=1683304647","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/in-the-kingdom-of-shoes-zachary-austin-doleshal-9781487524449","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}