John Peacock charts the development of every kind and style of footwear from earliest times to the present day, for both men and women. His drawings reproduce in meticulous detail a host of representative examples from every era: the simple sandals of Ancient Egypt, made from natural fibers; exquisite Greek footwear of the "Golden Age," including boots made from rawhide with leather linings and leg bindings; richly embroidered and bejeweled shoes of the Byzantine empire; the fantastic pike-toed boots newly fashionable in the fourteenth century; the hugely exaggerated platform heels of the sixteenth century; eighteenth-century women's slippers of the finest silk; and a huge range of contemporary shoes, from sneakers and stilettos to the latest footwear in radical materials and experimental styles.

The pictures are arranged in six chronological sections and accompanied by full descriptions, including details of materials, heel and toe styles, decorations, and fastenings. An invaluable reference section includes a time chart summarizing the development of shoes throughout the centuries, a concise bibliography, and biographies and histories of the world's leading shoe designers and manufacturers, including Manolo Blahnik, Salvatore Ferragamo, Charles Jourdan, Roger Vivier, and Vivienne Westwood.

This encyclopaedic survey, with its colorful and detailed illustrations, will become the unrivaled reference work in its field, indispensable to any shoe enthusiast, designer, or collector. Over 2000 illustrations, 800 in color.