More Than Honey: The Survival of Bees and the Future of Our World

by Markus Imhoof, Claus-Peter Lieckfeld

“If 70 percent of all cattle or 30 percent of all chickens were to die annually, states of emergency would be declared everywhere. The death of bees is at least that dramatic and with even more far-reaching consequences.” More Than Honey, the book based on the award-winning documentary of the same name, takes us on a global tour of the world of bees, introducing us along the way to “killer bees,” Frankenbees, beekeepers, and human pollinators. Markus Imhoof and Claus-Peter Lieckfeld examine both the history and current status of our relationship to and reliance on bees, and expose the human behaviors that are contributing to the decline of the bee population-a decline that could ultimately contribute directly to a world food problem.The authors intersperse information about the intricate social structure of the bee world and the problems faced by bees-ranging from the ubiquitous Varroa destructor to overuse of pesticides and an ever-shrinking natural landscape-with conversations and interviews with beekeepers and bee experts from across the world, balancing the views of those who see bees as simply a valuable source of income with the views of those who see bees as undervalued, misunderstood creatures that need our help to survive. The end result is a fascinating, accessible overview of a species that is crucial to our survival.Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Rachel Cunning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Markus Imhoof outlines many of the problems facing beekeepers today in his book More Than Honey: The Survival of Bees and the Future of Our World, which Imhoof had originally produced as a documentary. His slant is strongly pro-bees and anti-pesticides and, in conjunction, anti-commercial agriculture. On the whole, I would recommend seeing the documentary over reading the book if subtitles don’t bother you. This is a strong statement as I haven't seen more of the documentary than its cinematically gorgeous trailer. However, I suspect the narrative arc is stronger in the documentary than it is in the book because the book is so strongly divided into thematic chapters. I wrote a more thorough reviewon my website, which was shared to

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I often hear that bees are dying off in record numbers and that if it continues, it will wreak social and economic havoc.
The beginning of this book explains why in clinical and very stark betrayal. While this is fascinating, unfortunately the book then veers off into the lives of beekeepers and the minutiae of species, and the in and outs of beekeeping.
Those interested in such things will probably really enjoy this book. However judging by the title, I was under the impression that this book would be about why bees are important. This is not to say the book isn't interesting in parts, it certainly is, only that it isn't the book I thought it would be.

[Andrew Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like there wasn't really a conclusion to this book at all...

[Matt Chester · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started strong in discussing the issues facing the honeybee, and the catastrophic effect of their pending population collapse. However it quickly adjusted to simply describing the current life of bees and beekeepers, abandoning the discussion of why the honeybees are so important to the world's ecology and food supply or what should be done to fix it. The last chapter discussed the making of the documentary of the same name, which was definitely interesting on its own-- but did not make up for the missed information I was hoping to read.

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this: more about the history of beekeeping, more about how bees are vital for polination, more in general. It was too dry and clinical and I found myself skimming a lot of it.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

More info for my quest to keep bees! Very interesting! Well worth reading, even if you"re not interested in keeping bees!

[MC Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot of buzz about this book.