I am dating myself when I say that I first heard this book being read by Michigan State University's Radio Reader in the 1970s. I was a kid and thought it was the most hilarious thing I had ever heard. My parents eventually ordered the book from Kroch and Brentano's--pre internet! The book was as funny to read as it was to hear. It follows the boyhood of the author from grade school to high school. The vagaries of a Catholic school education are told with great humor. If you liked the boyhood-related essays of Jean Shepherd, this may appeal to you. As to the title: the nuns told girls to avoid patent leather shoes because they supposedly allowed boys to look at your underwear--the 1950s version of a upskirt.