Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon Book

Few brands can boast the cultural potency and rich heritage in which each new pair of Dr. Martens boots is steeped. Since its inception in 1960, each generation has in turn recycled and re–ignited the boot's currency in the youth market, heaping yet more history on its simple shape. Written in association with the makers of Dr. Martens, this first–ever popular history charts the life and strange times of this iconic footwear, featuring more than 100 photos of the boots as well as the bands that made them famous.

On April 1, 1960, the first Dr. Martens boot rolled off the production line at the Griggs family firm of shoemakers in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, England. This was the "1460," so named after the day, month, and year of its birth. Today, Dr. Martens is a brand famous the world over, as iconic as Ray Bans and Levis. From the launch of the classic cherry–red eight–holer on that day in 1960, to the more recent multihued twenty–holers, Docs have been in the vanguard of style and culture for over four decades—subversive, strident, authority–baiting. Now, for the first time, the boots and their times take center stage in a book. Decade by decade, in words and pictures, Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon recounts the fascinating story of the music, the people, and the places that breathed life into the boot on its journey from work–wear to in–wear.