The Art of Growing a Beard

This is a humorous book that I think young men (especially hipsters) will enjoy. Most of the patrons at my library are middle aged and up, but I think this would be popular at the main library in Pittsburgh where there are twenty-somethings.

The Art of Growing a Beard is a book about the history, selection process, and maintenance of beards from throughout history.

I got this from Netgalley.

This book was written in the 1970's and has been reissued. It is also a hilarious text on all aspects of bearded life and essential for the bearded or wannabe bearded gentleman.

Did you know we haven't had a bearded president in over a century? Or that it's perfectly acceptable to draw beards on photographs of oneself when selecting your beard? Or that the perfect accessories for a goatee are a string tie, mint julep, and a pillared mansion in some state of decrepitude?

Grosswirth also covers the impact growing a beard will have on your life, be it increased attention from the opposite sex or giving you an air of authority.

The Art of Growing a Beard does show it's age a bit. It was written in the 1970's and 70's slang and attitudes are prevalent, which makes it even more hilarious, in my opinion.

If you have a beard, know someone with a beard, or want to know someone with a beard, you will find this book both informative and hilarious. Four out of five stars.

Great background as a lifetime beard owner. Very amusing.

This book is a great thematic and historical look at the beard. Think "Art of Manliness" meets "History Channel". The first half of the book takes a rather humorous look at beards through history (Ancient Egypt & Europe), while the second half provides detail on how to select and grow a beard. I was entertained by the first part of the book, but the second half was OK. The second half provided enough information to get started, but I was looking for a little more content as well as more illustrations (preferably pictures).

Overall, though, this book was a great introduction to the care and art of growing a beard. I reviewed the electronic copy of the book and look forward to purchasing the actual copy for my own personal collection.

This review was based on an electronic copy provided by Netgalley.

I found this book to be a hilarious introduction to one of the most visible signs of manliness - the beard. As a beardless human, I enjoy looking at well-groomed facial hair, and I am certain its care and feeding can be far more complicated than the neophyte might assume. I especially loved the history of beards.

This book is a must for anyone with facial hair, thinking of growing a beard, and those of us who love them.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you come to this book thinking the cover disguises a variety of photos of hipsters and geeks celebrating peak beard, then think again – but you're sure to find the wordier than expected contents still highly entertaining. I doubt if this 1970s etiquette and man's facial hair primer combined would have been reprinted were it not due to both a combination of the celebration on the modern high street of the odd facial growth, from the perennial goatee to the full-on jihadi, and the author's wit, intelligence and warm approach to his subject. So this book comes across as heartfelt, accurate advice, leavened with much mirth and sense regarding the hirsute face. Not ancient enough to make one scoff at how one did things in the olden days, but still leavened by a style much alien to the young reader of today, this was really quite enjoyable.