COMBING THROUGH THE WHITE HOUSE

A talented writer presents a uniquely entertaining and edifying cultural history of the U.S. presidency via hair.

Long before Donald Trump entered politics, Christopher Hitchens said of one of the future president's signature characteristics: "He's managed to cover 90 percent of his head with 30 percent of his hair." The hair of U.S. presidents, their wives, and other significant figures in American history is the subject of this wonderful book by Pappas, who has been the executive editor of Encyclopaedia Britannica for 25 years. While some of the stories the author includes are well known to even casual students of presidential history—why Abraham Lincoln decided to grow a beard, and a recounting of Bill Clinton's controversial haircut—most are novel and enhanced by the author’s style and tone, which demonstrate that he had as much fun researching and writing the book as readers will reading it. Pappas is terrific in his examinations of the talismanic qualities of hair in history—e.g., a vignette about Lincoln's secretary John Hay's gifting of the locks of Lincoln and George Washington to a trio of presidents. Additionally, Pappas takes a look at how DNA has figured into the lives and histories of various presidents, including the extracurricular activities of Clinton and Thomas Jefferson. As for Hair, Pappas covers the spectrum, from the sublimely absurd intrigue involving the hair of one of John F. Kennedy's nemeses to the poignant story of whether the harrowing loss of a child turned Barbara Bush's hair prematurely gray. The book is richly adorned with color photographs and illustrations, and insightful and amusing sidebars—e.g., did James Buchanan's hairline have something do with the possible asexuality of the only bachelor president?—accentuate the lively text. The delightful snippets of presidential and U.S. history that Pappas has assembled in this engaging book entertain and inform.

A thoroughly fun read for a wide audience.