2 of 2
Favorite Magazine Article of the Year: Burkhard Bilger, "Sole Survivor: One man's quest to find the best shoes ever made" (The New Yorker, February 14 & 21, 2005). It was very hard to make the final choice for award. I read so many outstanding articles in the course of the year, in so many genres, in so many different keys—and some of you who emailed me with your nominations sent me to gems I had missed. I love Bilger's essay for many reasons, not least because I am a lifetime walker, and it reminded me (among other things) of many walks I've taken over the years with my son, Andrew. Another reason is the figure at the center of the piece, Petr Hlavacek, a "professor of shoe technology at Tomas Bata University, in the Czech city of Zlin," a man whom Bilger portrays with the virtuosity of John McPhee at the height of his powers. Yet another reason is the Central European setting and the curious history of this particular city. And then there is Hlavacek's fascination with the footwear of the frozen man found in a glacier in South Tyrol, who was thawed out after more than 5,000 years. Hlavacek painstakingly constructs a replica of the ancient shoes and pronounces them superior to many that are currently on the market. Did I mention that the piece is superbly written, from the very first sentence?
Next week: some coming attractions from 2006.
John Wilson is editor of Books & Culture.
Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
share this page
RSS Feed
