The book for which the video below is a companion, Unbound by Dean King, tells about the women who were part of the Long March of Mao’s army through Western China. This book will be many things to many readers, depending on perspective. For me, it is an extraordinary story of a relatively recent human migration and an example of the role of straw sandals in history and culture from tens of thousands of years ago to the present.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mE5T6NB9PJBP6