In addition to telling the history of these designers and spectacle houses, there are some special features thrown into the book. Handley relates some information about John Lennon, for example, and how he really wore more of a PRO style frame - more of an oval shape - than the round and tinted style so often associated with him.
There's a feature on Elvis Presley's eccentric choices for custom-made shades. Also enjoyable is the feature on Harold Lloyd, an actor and producer in the early 1900s. He became famous at the time for a bespectacled character he created on film. He became so well known for this character that he said he could take his glasses off and be "free", he could "wallow in glorious real-life anonymity." He was like the opposite of Clark Kent.
This book assumes some knowledge of spectacle manufacture and of designers. Well, I say that because Handley refers often to the materials that many of the glasses are made of as if the reader will know what they are. This does not mean he talks down to the reader, he treats them as if they are part of this world and intimately acquainted with it. There is a glossary that defines these materials and the frame types so we can keep up.
I know I learned a great deal from this book and that is the best thing that can be said about any book. And it made me appreciate the one fairly nice pair of shades I have: Ray-Ban RB3217 (above).
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