One Thousand Mustaches

The 'stache is back! After decades of being much maligned in Western culture, the mustache is enjoying a cultural renaissance, thanks to the annual phenomenon of Movember (the international campaign in which men grow facial hair during the month of November to raise funds for prostate cancer research; in 2011, 1.8 million men in fourteen countries participated), and the retro/modern mo's sported by the likes of Ryan Gosling, Ashton Kutcher, and James Franco. Shaving companies are offering new-fangled mustache groomers, and even Dr Seuss's mustachioed The Lorax has made a comeback.

One Thousand Mustaches is both a lighthearted cultural history and an earnest style manual: it's the story of the 'stache through the ages and its manifestations in politics, war, movies, music, sports, and art, as well as information on various 'stache styles and how to grow and wear them with pride. The book also includes numerous photos and drawings throughout.

Contemplating a handlebar or considering a Fu Manchu? Find them and more styles here in One Thousand Mustaches: a book for those with mo's, and those who love 'em.

Allan Peterkin is the author of One Thousand Beards and co-author of The Bearded Gentleman.

Allan Peterkin: Allan Peterkin is a psychiatrist and writer living and teaching in Toronto. He is the author of One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair and co-author (with Nick Burns) of The Bearded Gentleman: The Style Guide To Shaving Face, which has led to his becoming (if somewhat reluctantly) a noted pogonologist. He has been interviewed by newspapers worldwide and has appeared in Esquire, Men’s Fitness, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Sports Illustrated.