The Bearded Gentleman is an authoritative yet lighthearted illustrated 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. Among them are many well-known styles, such as the Handlebar, the Fu Manchu, the Goatee, the Van Dyck, and the more recent Soul Patch. But there are also those that are less familiar, including the Horseshoe, the Lampshade, the Painter’s Brush, the Landing Strip, the French Fork, and El Insecto (a.k.a. The Mighty). There’s also practical advice on choosing a facial hair style that’s right for you, as well as insight into how facial hair as figured in the history of masculinity, including its impact on politics, class, and sexuality.