Love hats? Or, got someone on your gift list who does? West Seattle author Mark Elliott has just published “The Brim and the Crown: A Field Guide to Custom Hatters and Hat Shops in the US and Abroad.” Here’s what he tells us about it:

Amazon just published the 144-page softcover ($18.95) this past week.

* The book divides the US into six regions (36 states), each with profiles, websites, and online ordering info for the best custom hat makers for classic fedoras or cowboy hats.
* An entire chapter identifying custom hat makers in 19 countries.
* A separate chapter where to order a custom hat of your favorite film noir or Western film hero.
* Another chapter describing the women-owned hat businesses in the US.
* How and where to get 1930s newsboy caps, Ecuadorian Panamas, top hats, Indiana Jones fedoras, Godfather homburgs, Amish flat hats, and coonskin and Civil War caps, etc.

This book is for someone who loves hats. Someone who doesn’t leave home without one come rain or shine; who follows the seasons for felt and straw; who can tell you their hat size in inches and centimeters; and who knows how to crease a hat and wear it with confidence.

Mark adds, “I spent most of this year researching, interviewing, and writing. It’s the first time all this info has been collated and published.”