The Hairy Best of the Beard Books for No-Shave November
It’s snowing and cold outside our office, which makes No-Shave November, or Movember, seem like a fabulous way to ward off the chill. Whether you’re growing out a full beard, just a stylish ’stache, or are just a facial hair admirer, here are six hair-raising books for you:
One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair by Allan Peterkin (Arsenal Pulp Press)
This book discusses facial hair in its thousand different sizes and shapes, curls and designs, styles and furry fixations. The author waxes eloquent, and offers illustrations (photographs and drawings) along with anecdotes, facts, quotations from history, and practical advice.
One Thousand Mustaches: A Cultural History of the Mo by Allan Peterkin (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Peterkin follows up his successful book on beards with a book solely devoted to the mustache. This is part lighthearted cultural history and part earnest style manual.
The Bearded Gentleman: The Style Guide to Shaving Face by Allan Peterkin and Nick Burns (Arsenal Pulp Press)
If you’ve ever wanted to grow a specific style of facial hair, but weren’t sure how, The Bearded Gentleman is an authoritative yet lighthearted guide that offers detailed information on some fifty specific facial hair styles: where they come from, how to grow them, and how to maintain them.
The Bearded Lady by Sharlee Dieguez (Hill Street Press)
Dieguez draws a sympathetic heroine in bearded Jessica Foster. This vivid detailed story follows the lives of Jessie and her younger sister, Tweets, as they tour the Southeastern United States with the circus.
Badass Civil War Beards by Anna Marie Hider and Julia Ann Hider (John F. Blair, Publisher)
The Civil War era seems to have been a particular inventive time for beards. Based on the hilarious blog of the same name, Badass Civil War Beards features over one hundred of the Civil War’s most wonderfully insane facial hair styles.
Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate’s Life by Carole P. Roman (CreateSpace)
We don’t want to leave the kids out! This is the first in Roman’s delightful and imaginative Captain No Beard series, which features the adventures of young Alexander, his cousin Hallie, and the crew of their pirate ship.
Allyce Amidon
