Synopses & Reviews
There he is again, the hairy beast in the mirror!
Not every man in the world begins his day by removing the night's stubble from his jaw, but 93 percent of the male population thinks taming the monster is the first order of business every morning. Since man invented metal--shortly after he started walking upright--he has sought to scrape stubble from his face without skinning himself alive.
In A Closer Shave, Wallace Pinfold takes the reader on a multicultural, multicentury, and multifaceted tour of the human face as seen from the stainless steel railway of the razor. Through more than 200 photographs and illustrations, cartoons and wood blocks, paintings and advertisements, the story of the shave unfolds, from how to trim a moustache, use a brush, and banish foggy mirrors to famous beards and bald guys in history, to the obsession with shaved heads in professional sports.
This witty little book takes a fast, furious, and funny look at the history of getting a closer, smoother, easier shave--and proves in the process that the male capacity for preening and self-absorption should never be underestimated.
Synopsis
Every man--bearded and clean-shaven alike--ought to know a little something about the activity that will occupy close to 3,000 hours of his life. This illustrated chronicle of shaving offers expert how-to-advice, details the history of the shave, profiles heroes of hairiness and champions of the smooth pate, and reveals in every odd, strange, and wonderful fact in between.
About the Author
Wallace Pinfold is a French-language interpreter and translator. He has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, a ranger naturalist in Yosemite, and a road manager for country western and blues bands touring the Middle East. He is coauthor of Rising to the Occasion (Algonquin, 1993). He lives in Brunswick, Maine, and shaves every time the occasion warrants.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The What of Hair
The Why and Wherefore of Beards
Shaving Personalities
How to Shave Your Face
How to Grow a Beard
How to Shave Your Head
Straight Razors and Barbershop Shaves
The March of Progress
Edsels and Edisons
The Equipment
Life's Rich Pattern
Acknowledgments
Photography and Illustration Credits