Bootblacking 101: A Handbook (A Boner Book)
by Andrew McDiarmid
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew McDiarmidEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-10
ISBN: 1887895698
Number of pages: 100
Publisher: Nazca Plains Corp
Book Reviews of Bootblacking 101: A Handbook (A Boner Book)
Book Review: More Spit, More Polish...
Summary: 4 Stars
"Bootblacking 101: A Handbook" by Andrew McDiarmid is something that you would have expected to see multiple volumes on the topic. After all, you see bootblacks at almost every fetish event. The bootblack room-as-fundraiser is now standard for most contests, especially at International Mr. Leather. There is usually a boot-stand at any leather bar worth its salt. So why it took this long to get an actual book on the subject is surprising.
On the other hand, maybe not. "Bootblacking 101: A Handbook" is a pretty thorough look at the topic and it clocks in at barely 100 pages. This means that, as elemental as the bootblacking topic is, there may not be all that much to say about it. McDiarmid is certainly a worthwhile source for bootblacking. He twice competed in the International Mr. Bootblack competition at IML, finishing second runner-up in 1997. He's done volunteer time with the Leather Archives and Museum. He has given presentations on the subject at the Orange County Leather Association and in Fort Lauderdale, among other places. So he's certainly knowledgeable about the craft.
It is McDiarmid's experiences as he learns his craft and enters the arena of competitive bootblacking that set the tone of "Bootblacking 101." While the autobiographical final chapter deals just as much with preparedness and the rules of most contests, the description of the event is an informative read. While this is where the tone of the book was likely formulated, the soul of the book comes earlier.
McDiarmid waxes (sorry - couldn't resist) philosophical in the section headed "The Tao of Bootblacking." "Over the years of working in the bootblacking environment," he states, "I have developed a credo. My Tao of how bootblacking affects me." He emotionally describes how his philosophy informs the way he works on boots and leathers, and how - as you work on a person's pair of boots - you aren't just a bootblack. You are their bootblack. As he postulated in a pamphlet that was originally distributed at Living In Leather 1999, "The Seven Tao Of Bootblacking" sets the tenants of not just how but why a bootblack reaches his spiritual pinnacle when he enters the boot worshipping zone. McDiarmid finds his best footing in this area, and it really is the best part of "Bootblacking 101."
Unfortunately, immediately following this illuminating segment is a story excerpt from McDiarmid's collection of short stories, "Smoke...Cigars and The Men That Enjoy Them." Basically re-writing the previous segment with characters as a work of fiction, you wind up re-reading exactly what you just spent the previous five pages during "Marcus' Ethic from 'The Hunt'"...except with dialogue and some hot in-bar sexual tension. Plain and simply put, it's filler in a book that is already somewhat slight.
Be that as it may, "Bootblacking 101" covers the ground you really need to know. If you want to get in on the beginner's level, the first third of the book details "The Basic Bootshine." For bootblacks on a budget, there is a boot-kit that you can put together for about twenty bucks. He even humorously warns you away from anything with "insta" or "EZ" in the product name. From there you'll be cleaning, soaping, spraying and polishing in no time.
I can recommend "Bootblacking 101" as a primer to the world of boots and bootblacks. I just can't say that this book goes deep enough. It's a good resource for McDiarmid's Bootblacking Tao and for doing the deed, but in need of some more substantive research. This book feels incomplete, frankly. I kept hoping for more about the different brands of boots themselves, maybe a history of bootmakers and sellers (like the infamous Stompers in San Fransisco), some background on bootblacking through the ages, or even more of a history of the contests (the IML contest is now over 15 years old). There are no inclusions from other bootblacks to enhance McDiarmid's comments, nor any real attentions paid to the variety of footwear that one might encounter as a bootblack. Perhaps those issues and a little more in-depth research could go into "Bootblacking 201," but for the most part, "Bootblacking 101" feels more like a few magazine articles stitched together and then stretched out over the length of a book.
Summary of Bootblacking 101: A Handbook (A Boner Book)
Andrew McDiarmid has two big passions in his life. He explored the first in his book, the fictional collection Smoke: Cigars and the Men That Enjoy Them. In this book, he explains his second. You see bootblacks everywhere at leather events, setting up their kits, snapping their towels and getting intimate with those black leather erogonous zones that cover..Psychology & Counseling Books
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