Tuesday, August 1, 2017

The Benevolent Bee

I love bees.  I'm a passionate gardener and beekeeper.  I also live on planet earth.  I'm saddened and terrified in about equal measure at what we humans are doing to our planet and environment.
I'm a bee missionary and spread the good word about bees and beekeeping to anyone I meet.

The author of this book 'gets it'.  Hopefully without sounding completely 'woowoo', I really loved this book's vibe and that she backs up her statements with good reliable sources.  Yes, she's enthusiastic about bees and protecting and nurturing them (we all should be), but she backs up her statements with reliable checkable facts.

The book itself is beautifully photographed and has a logical layout.  There are 6 main sections about the main bee products: propolis, pollen, honey, royal jelly, bee venom (yes, really!) and beeswax.

Each of the main categories has supporting information which includes a description, historical background, harvesting methods, scientific properties and information, and followed by projects and recipes for each item (with the exception of the bee venom section, there aren't exactly projects for that).

The book is full of lovely clear macro photography of bees and bee products and the prose is beautifully written.  This book could have been deadly dull and dry....it's not.  She somehow manages to write wonderfully clearly and her enthusiasm for her subject shines through. 

There is a reference/supply section at the end of the book which is comprehensive, though (obviously) slanted toward American beekeepers.
The bibliography and index are well laid out, logical and seem to be complete.

I read an ARC/galley and despite that, the formatting was perfect and I didn't find a single editing mistake.

Really superlative book which I intend to buy for my not-yet-beekeeping friends.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

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