Start grooming your Gandalf and break out your Blessed; the beard is back. This impeccably turned-out little guide on the world's most famous facial embellishments will teach you how to groom, craft, style and quote your way to beard greatness.

Some beards are bushy, others are peach-fuzzy. Some are distinguished, others are scruffy. Some beards inspire love and trust (Santa's); others evoke fear and loathing (Satan's). Abe Lincoln's beard connotes patriotic devotion; Shakespeare's stands for artistic brilliance. But no matter who their wearer or what their shape, all beards have one thing in common: Crumbs get stuck in them. With facial adornments back in fashion (anointing the wearer with a veneer of virility and intellectual prowess) men of all ages will want to consider the choices presented in this useful little book. Inside are 40 different whiskery embellishments plucked from the broad beard spectrum, including (to name just a few) the French Fork, the Soul Patch, the Chin Puff, and the Fu Manchu. The Little Book of Beards lets you know what each style says about you as a person, and identifies which styles will make women fall at your feet- and which might just make them run for the hills.

Dust off your Dali and hake out your Selleck, the ’tache is back. This impeccably turned-out little guide to the world’s most famous upper-lip embellishments will teach you how to groom, craft, style and quote your way to Moustache Greatness.

From big ones to small ones and even ones that block out the sun; the bum is back! This cheeky little guide on the world’s most popular body part is bouncing with fun, facts and quotes to help you celebrate the JUNK IN YOUR TRUNK.

A wearable board book with die-cut holes invites the reader to try out the six bearded masks.

Beards—they’re all the rage these days. Take a look around: from hip urbanites to rustic outdoorsmen, well-groomed metrosexuals to post-season hockey players, facial hair is everywhere. The New York Times traces this hairy trend to Big Apple hipsters circa 2005 and reports that today some New Yorkers pay thousands of dollars for facial hair transplants to disguise patchy, juvenile beards. And in 2014, blogger Nicki Daniels excoriated bearded hipsters for turning a symbol of manliness and power into a flimsy fashion statement. The beard, she said, has turned into the padded bra of masculinity. Of Beards and Men makes the case that today’s bearded renaissance is part of a centuries-long cycle in which facial hairstyles have varied in response to changing ideals of masculinity. Christopher Oldstone-Moore explains that the clean-shaven face has been the default style throughout Western history—see Alexander the Great’s beardless face, for example, as the Greek heroic ideal. But the primacy of razors has been challenged over the years by four great bearded movements, beginning with Hadrian in the second century and stretching to today’s bristled resurgence. The clean-shaven face today, Oldstone-Moore says, has come to signify a virtuous and sociable man, whereas the beard marks someone as self-reliant and unconventional. History, then, has established specific meanings for facial hair, which both inspire and constrain a man’s choices in how he presents himself to the world. This fascinating and erudite history of facial hair cracks the masculine hair code, shedding light on the choices men make as they shape the hair on their faces. Oldstone-Moore adeptly lays to rest common misperceptions about beards and vividly illustrates the connection between grooming, identity, culture, and masculinity. To a surprising degree, we find, the history of men is written on their faces.

This volume brings together a range of scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to re-examine the histories of facial hair and its place in discussions of gender, the military, travel and art, amongst others. Chapters in the first section of the collection explore the intricate history of beard wearing and shaving, including facial hair fashions in long historical perspective, and the depiction of beards in portraiture. Section Two explores the shifting meanings of the moustache, both as a manly symbol in the nineteenth century, and also as the focus of the material culture of personal grooming. The final section of the collection charts the often-complex relationship between men, women and facial hair. It explores how women used facial hair to appropriate masculine identity, and how women’s own hair was read as a sign of excessive and illicit sexuality.

What was life like in a Viking village? Who were the Viking gods? Were there female Vikings? What was sword killing? Did Vikings smell bad? For the curious of all ages, The Little Book of Vikings gives the answers to these questions and many more. Exploring facts, fiction, myths and legends, you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about the scourge of the Norsemen! From The Little Book series published by Viking Dog. These books cover topics of interest to readers of all ages, presented in a fun and entertaining way. Learn about wolves, Vikings, the Wild West and more!

It's not something easily owned up to, but every family in the country will have come into contact with head lice, either through embarrassing personal experience or by grizzly tales told by friends and relations. The world is teeming with head lice. Both a manual and an entertaining read, The Little Book of Nits is small enough to be purchased as an impulse buy, but also serious enough for it to be a useful addition to the home reference library. Broken down into bite-sized pieces are full details of the history and biology of head lice, advice on how to spot an infestation and the many different ways of dealing with it, natural versus chemical treatments, gadgets and combs, and other aspects of our relationship with these annoying arthropods. Inside, we'll learn that most of what you have been told or think you know is wrong. Is it any wonder we can't get rid of them? Throughout, the book is illuminated with amusing anecdotes, myths, pictures, cartoons, silly stories and interesting facts. Presented clearly and objectively, it is a quick reference tool for parents and carers, and an entertaining little guide to these most irritating of insect.