In the tradition of bestsellers such as Shoedog, Authentic is a surprisingly candid, compelling memoir by a high school dropout who went on to establish one of the world's most iconic brandsPaul Van Doren is the founder of Vans—the shoe company beloved by skateboarders, creatives, and fans everywhere for its laid-back, colorful SoCal vibe, and famous for its people-oriented company culture. How did Van Doren, who started as a 16-year-old "service boy" at a local rubber factory, establish a family shoe business that evolved into a globally recognized brand with annual revenue of more than four billion dollars? A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. In 1966, when the first House of Vans store opened, there were no stand-alone retail stores just for sneakers. Paul's bold experiments in product design,...