Combing Through the White House by Theodore Pappas

Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Combing Through the White House:

Talk about some hairy situations! (I’ll see myself out.)

Quick synopsis:

A book about presidential hair. Yes, you read that correctly.

Fact for Non-History People:

Lincoln was clean-shaven for a good portion of his life until a young girl wrote him a letter suggesting he grow a beard.

Fact for History Nerds:

Some of Elvis’ hair was sold in 2002 for $115,000. Not weird at all.

My Take on Combing Through the White House:

I have read some books with some weird themes before. Theodore Pappas’ Combing Through the White House may just take the case, though. Pappas has written a book about presidential hair. No, that is not a typo.

In many ways, Pappas’ book is stellar. He writes with a certain wink to the reader about how silly this can all be. The stories he chooses are interesting and there are a lot of little facts which keep the narrative interesting. This book is definitely fun.

Whether or not the “hair” aspect of the narrative holds up is a different matter. Some stories force Pappas to really reach to make hair a critical factor. He also needs to talk about non-presidents to barely pass 200 pages of content (with pictures throughout).

If you want an offbeat book with good prose and a lot of fun, then this one is for you.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)

Verdict:

Offbeat and fun. Buy it here!