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In Honey Bees: Letters From the Hive, bee expert Stephen Buchmann takes readers on an incredible tour. Enter a beehive--one part nursery, one part honey factory, one part queen bee sanctum--then fly through backyard gardens, open fields, and deserts where wildflowers bloom. It's fascinating--and delicious! Hailed for their hard work and harmonious society, bees make possible life on earth as we know it. This fundamental link between bees and humans reaches beyond biology to our environment and our culture: bees have long played important roles in art, religion, literature, and medicine--and, of course, in the kitchen. For honey fanatics and all who have a sweet tooth, this book not only entertains and enlightens but also reminds us of the fragility of humanity's relationship with nature. Includes illustrations and photographs throughout. nbsp;… (more)
User reviews
Buchmann’s easy to understand yet descriptive language makes Honey Bees an enjoyable read. He touches on every subject relating to bees and honey, includes sidebars (one about L.L. Langstroth who invented the man-made beehive), and stories about ancient rituals still practiced such as the Malaysian ‘honey hunt’ dating to 1100 AD. The book contains additional reading, sources of honey and beekeeping equipment, the chemical composition of honey and more. It is suitable for pleasure reading or for school assignments. It is a worthy library addition.
The information contained in this slim volume is interesting and the writing is lively, but where the book fails is in its organization. (A full chapter is devoted to descriptions of honeys from around the world, while descriptions of different types of bees, both honey-producing and otherwise, is relegated to an appendix.) One long chapter reads like a travel essay on an author's eco-tourist trip to watch a ritual Malaysian honey hunt, which, while interesting, does not fit the informative tone of the rest of the book. Colony Collapse Disorder, the #1 Bee Issue of the last 10 years, gets only a half-page mention in the Afterword, with no discussion of its potential environmental impact. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the book's information as a whole, but glossing over CCD makes me wonder what else might be left out.
A good book for upper-elementary and middle-school readers interested in bugs, bees, or honey.
(Admittedly I picked it up because I have Concerns that CCD is going to be what leads to the eventual collapse of civilization. I'm relieved to learn--in this book!--that bees are responsible for pollinating only 35% of our food supply, but horrifyingly that 35% is pretty much all fruits and vegetables. Without bees, we're hosed, and the bees are disappearing. Food is already increasing in cost; a decrease in supply will lead to malnutrition and starvation, which will in turn lead--long-term, I mean--to the eventual "Colony Collapse" of humans. )