What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us
Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent, or fantastical.
The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their "society" over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Muhammed Ali.
The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee's impact on food and human ritual.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.
The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their "society" over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Muhammed Ali.
The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee's impact on food and human ritual.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2004
76 people are currently reading
2386 people want to read
About the author
Bee Wilson
32 books261 followersBee Wilson is the author of books about food, approaching the subject from a number of different angles.
As well as a cookbook (The Secret of Cooking), she has written books on food and history (Consider the Fork), food and psychology (First Bite), and the emotional life of kitchen objects (The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss and Kitchen Objects).
Wilson's book The Way We Eat Now was awarded the Fortnum & Mason Food Book of the year in 2020.
Wilson's cookbook The Secret of Cooking was listed as one of The New Yorker's Fifteen Essential Cookbooks as well as a New York Times, WBUR Here & Now, and National Post Best Cookbook of 2023 and one of the Guardian's Five Best Food Books of 2023
In 2025 she was awarded an M.B.E. for services to food writing and food education (the educstion part was for her work in co-founding and creating TastEd, a charity in the U.K. aimed at introducing children to the joys of vegetables and fruits using their senses.
As well as a cookbook (The Secret of Cooking), she has written books on food and history (Consider the Fork), food and psychology (First Bite), and the emotional life of kitchen objects (The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss and Kitchen Objects).
Wilson's book The Way We Eat Now was awarded the Fortnum & Mason Food Book of the year in 2020.
Wilson's cookbook The Secret of Cooking was listed as one of The New Yorker's Fifteen Essential Cookbooks as well as a New York Times, WBUR Here & Now, and National Post Best Cookbook of 2023 and one of the Guardian's Five Best Food Books of 2023
In 2025 she was awarded an M.B.E. for services to food writing and food education (the educstion part was for her work in co-founding and creating TastEd, a charity in the U.K. aimed at introducing children to the joys of vegetables and fruits using their senses.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 9, 2017
It's easy to write sentences like "This book is amazing" or "this book really kept my interest" but it feels far more daring to write a sentence, "there wasn't a paragraph in this book that didn't keep my attention." I should also add that every paragraph in this book was not only packed with information, but also managed to be informative and entertaining.
The Hive is a cultural history focusing on the way that honeybees and human beings have interacted, focusing specifically on how human beings observed bees and imprinted their own ideas, weaknesses, philosophy, and desires on these insects sometimes to the detriment of the bees themselves. Wilson observes how bees infected politics, sex, work and labor, ideas about life and death, food, and finally the way human beings viewed themselves.
Wilson's book is one that I cannot recommend enough, because even if the reader is not a fan of bees, or perhaps afraid of them, this compels the reader to observe that almost every facet of society has at some point been influenced by honeybees and honey. Man and bee are observed together in a kind of mutual cultural evolution and the incredible thing is the book never suffers from a pedantic narrative. Each new page brought a new revelation about human beings and bees.
Arthropods as a group tend to suffer in relation to mankind because they are so dramatically different than us in terms of biology, but reading this book it's clear that honeybees are the exception to this hatred. Human beings have, and continue to rely on bees finding something in their existence that enhances or reflects their own.
If the reader would like to read my full review, they can follow the link to my site White Tower Musings:
https://jsjammersmith.wordpress.com/2...
The Hive is a cultural history focusing on the way that honeybees and human beings have interacted, focusing specifically on how human beings observed bees and imprinted their own ideas, weaknesses, philosophy, and desires on these insects sometimes to the detriment of the bees themselves. Wilson observes how bees infected politics, sex, work and labor, ideas about life and death, food, and finally the way human beings viewed themselves.
Wilson's book is one that I cannot recommend enough, because even if the reader is not a fan of bees, or perhaps afraid of them, this compels the reader to observe that almost every facet of society has at some point been influenced by honeybees and honey. Man and bee are observed together in a kind of mutual cultural evolution and the incredible thing is the book never suffers from a pedantic narrative. Each new page brought a new revelation about human beings and bees.
Arthropods as a group tend to suffer in relation to mankind because they are so dramatically different than us in terms of biology, but reading this book it's clear that honeybees are the exception to this hatred. Human beings have, and continue to rely on bees finding something in their existence that enhances or reflects their own.
If the reader would like to read my full review, they can follow the link to my site White Tower Musings:
https://jsjammersmith.wordpress.com/2...
January 31, 2019
This is a history not of bees but in how humans have viewed and interacted with bees. I had two main issues with the book. First, I think the author needed to decide if she was putting herself in this book or not. It read as if it was a straightforward history, but has rather off-putting opinions stuck in at random, especially in regard to religions. However, my main issue is that the footnotes seem incomplete and relied rather heavily on secondary sources. This makes it very hard to verify sources, as they just mention another secondary source. Finally, I think the book was lacking by excluding most of Asia and Africa, as well as not looking at modern concerns with commercialization and hive die offs.
September 21, 2025
Quite enjoyed this book about bees written by a woman named Bee. (It was meant to bee!) She has a good sense of humour and has done enough research to overfill my mind with bee facts. Bees are a wonder !
June 4, 2014
Another fine example of Bee Wilson's wonderful ability both to fully research a topic and to present that research in a fascinating and readable way.
I only found this book because I so enjoy Bee Wilson's writing. I had received Consider the Fork as an ARC, which led me to Swindled, and both were so interesting and absorbing that I simply had to try her other work. Bees are fascinating anyway, so the subject was a good one, and as always with Wilson's books I continually found vignettes and facts that I just had to share with the people around me. The Hive is less about bees than it is a history of the human perspective on bees, but in the process the reader learns an astounding amount about bees. The context is well arranged, with sections relating to the human experience as seen in mankind's view of bees throughout history. As ever, I recommend this book along with her others, and hope that she's working on something new to come out soon!
I only found this book because I so enjoy Bee Wilson's writing. I had received Consider the Fork as an ARC, which led me to Swindled, and both were so interesting and absorbing that I simply had to try her other work. Bees are fascinating anyway, so the subject was a good one, and as always with Wilson's books I continually found vignettes and facts that I just had to share with the people around me. The Hive is less about bees than it is a history of the human perspective on bees, but in the process the reader learns an astounding amount about bees. The context is well arranged, with sections relating to the human experience as seen in mankind's view of bees throughout history. As ever, I recommend this book along with her others, and hope that she's working on something new to come out soon!
December 6, 2018
Subtitled The Story of the Honey Bee and Us, this is a fascinating look at the history of the human relationship with the honey bee. (And yes Bee Wilson's first name really is Bee!).
We're taken on a guided tour of the hive itself and how honey bees organise their lives and space then we are shown the importance of bees and honey to human culture in both practical (agriculture and health) inspirational (ideas used in architecture, gender relations and politics) and symbolism (the bee as a symbol of hard work and as a symbolic giver of life) throughout our history. There are recipes for cakes and hand creams and a comparison of honeys made from different types of flowers.
It's truly an engrossing book and one that's worth re-reading.
We're taken on a guided tour of the hive itself and how honey bees organise their lives and space then we are shown the importance of bees and honey to human culture in both practical (agriculture and health) inspirational (ideas used in architecture, gender relations and politics) and symbolism (the bee as a symbol of hard work and as a symbolic giver of life) throughout our history. There are recipes for cakes and hand creams and a comparison of honeys made from different types of flowers.
It's truly an engrossing book and one that's worth re-reading.
November 14, 2025
3.5 stars
November 24, 2011
While I disagree with the author's characterization of mead as an inferior drink that should not even be tried (I love mead,and even brew it myself) -- I did enjoy the history of the honey bee. This is NOT a tale of the bee-keeper, although the last chapter does touch on that, the majority of the book is about how the bee and the hive has affected the human race. How we think and what we see in the hive has changed, but the fact that honey is a wonderful and amazing substance has not changed.
Overall, an enjoyable look at history through the eye of the hive.
Overall, an enjoyable look at history through the eye of the hive.
May 21, 2013
Maybe two and a half stars. Some sections were more interesting than others. The author is a food writer, and the best parts of this book are when she writes about honey's history and importance as a food or even as a medicine. The chapter on politics really dragged. The last chapter is on beekeeping, and it lacks an overall summary or point for the book. Not a bad book, and certainly not badly written--I'm just less interested in human appropriation of bees (which is really what this book is about) than in bees themselves.
June 30, 2019
This book was wroth the read. One thing I learned what that honey bees don't die all the time when they stings. Its only when they sting mammals with elastic skin like humans. i think I got that right. Before I read this book I was under the impression that whenever a bee stung anything it died because its stinger got stuck in whatever it stung.
And another thing that surprised me what the honey is not recommend for infants because they can get a type of botulism.
Another thing I never thought of was honey ice cream. I have to try honey ice cream. It sounds delicious.
There was so much in this book that I liked. It talked about Brother Adam. I had just read about him in sweetness & light. The bee keeping showman Thomas Wildman. Were two of my favorite people to read about in the book.
I enjoyed the discussion of why the popularity declined. It surprised me that German still eats as much honey now as in I think it was medieval times.
Why was I not interested in bees when I was younger. They are fascinating to read about. I am sure I don't know much about bees since I have only read about half a dozen books about bees but, I know more about bees than I used to.
Reading about Honey bees makes me wish I had a honey bee hive right now that I could go outside and sit by all day. I would never feel alone sitting by a honey be hive. I hope I would not get stung.
I could go on and on about the interesting things I learned in this book. I have written enough. Or maybe I will write more about it later.
And another thing that surprised me what the honey is not recommend for infants because they can get a type of botulism.
Another thing I never thought of was honey ice cream. I have to try honey ice cream. It sounds delicious.
There was so much in this book that I liked. It talked about Brother Adam. I had just read about him in sweetness & light. The bee keeping showman Thomas Wildman. Were two of my favorite people to read about in the book.
I enjoyed the discussion of why the popularity declined. It surprised me that German still eats as much honey now as in I think it was medieval times.
Why was I not interested in bees when I was younger. They are fascinating to read about. I am sure I don't know much about bees since I have only read about half a dozen books about bees but, I know more about bees than I used to.
Reading about Honey bees makes me wish I had a honey bee hive right now that I could go outside and sit by all day. I would never feel alone sitting by a honey be hive. I hope I would not get stung.
I could go on and on about the interesting things I learned in this book. I have written enough. Or maybe I will write more about it later.
January 14, 2021
A history of bee writing, more than bee keeping.
For most of human history, honey was the sweetest thing around (with the possible exception of dates), and it took on plenty of supernatural meanings. Bees were sometimes seen as a chthonic creature, and sometimes as instrumental in the creation. Compared with pure sugar, though, honey was long seen as a poor man's substitute. And even today, Wilson recommends against using honey in baking in almost all cases; sugar is simply much cleaner.
The book is full of interesting nuggets, such as the fact that modern bee hives with its hanging bars were invented by Langstroth, when he discovered the 'bee space' a distance of 6-8mm, which is small enough that the bees won't build in in, yet too large for them to fill in. By spacing frames by this distance it's possible to remove the frames once they're filled.
The book also mentions different kinds of honey - from the (super expensive) manuka honey from New Zealand, to the strongly flavoured rape honey that easily crystalizes (and that Wilson doesn't like.)
Surprisingly the book does not mention the American almond/honey bee business, nor the colony collapse disorder that's threatening beekeeping in many places.
Wilson is always entertaining, but I was expecting more about today's honey production than literary allusions.
For most of human history, honey was the sweetest thing around (with the possible exception of dates), and it took on plenty of supernatural meanings. Bees were sometimes seen as a chthonic creature, and sometimes as instrumental in the creation. Compared with pure sugar, though, honey was long seen as a poor man's substitute. And even today, Wilson recommends against using honey in baking in almost all cases; sugar is simply much cleaner.
The book is full of interesting nuggets, such as the fact that modern bee hives with its hanging bars were invented by Langstroth, when he discovered the 'bee space' a distance of 6-8mm, which is small enough that the bees won't build in in, yet too large for them to fill in. By spacing frames by this distance it's possible to remove the frames once they're filled.
The book also mentions different kinds of honey - from the (super expensive) manuka honey from New Zealand, to the strongly flavoured rape honey that easily crystalizes (and that Wilson doesn't like.)
Surprisingly the book does not mention the American almond/honey bee business, nor the colony collapse disorder that's threatening beekeeping in many places.
Wilson is always entertaining, but I was expecting more about today's honey production than literary allusions.
July 1, 2019
Continue to adore and remain mystified by the sheer knowledge and breadth of research Wilson does (as well as passing on her passion for her subject(s)) in the hardest way possible. Totally crushworthy in this way.
Is it in part because I switched over in the last half of a year to adding honey to my tea instead of sugar? Maybe. Is it because bees are fascinating? Absolutely. Food and how it's affected death, politics, love, and our language. Who knew there were so many ways that we've incorporated the words of bees and honey into our vocabulary from a "honeymoon" to "busy bee". Right? I know. You can probably come up with another group in a few minutes. She wouldn't be Wilson without being so thorough because she discusses sex (the birds and the bees) as well as recipes including honey and why we don't really cook with it anymore. I earmarked pages that I wanted to revisit including the mystery of the last 10% of the scientific breakdown of what honey truly is that makes it the "nectar of the Gods".
I can go on and on. She's a research queen and sits alongside my other perennial favorites like Caitlin Doughty, Mary Roach, Sy Montgomery, Bill Bryson, and their ilk. I want to have some tea (with honey) with this food academic!
Is it in part because I switched over in the last half of a year to adding honey to my tea instead of sugar? Maybe. Is it because bees are fascinating? Absolutely. Food and how it's affected death, politics, love, and our language. Who knew there were so many ways that we've incorporated the words of bees and honey into our vocabulary from a "honeymoon" to "busy bee". Right? I know. You can probably come up with another group in a few minutes. She wouldn't be Wilson without being so thorough because she discusses sex (the birds and the bees) as well as recipes including honey and why we don't really cook with it anymore. I earmarked pages that I wanted to revisit including the mystery of the last 10% of the scientific breakdown of what honey truly is that makes it the "nectar of the Gods".
I can go on and on. She's a research queen and sits alongside my other perennial favorites like Caitlin Doughty, Mary Roach, Sy Montgomery, Bill Bryson, and their ilk. I want to have some tea (with honey) with this food academic!
November 1, 2023
"The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us" is a captivating exploration of the world of honeybees and their profound influence on human history. With a combination of fascinating biology, historical insights, and practical beekeeping tips, this book offers a unique and informative journey into the heart of the link: hive. While the anonymous author's passion for bees shines through, their identity remains a mystery, adding an air of intrigue to this engaging read. It's a must-read for those who want to deepen their appreciation for these remarkable insects and their impact on our lives.
September 19, 2018
A hodgepodge of subjects covering the relationship between humans and bees, with a heavy focus on how the honey bee has influenced cultures throughout the ages. It's definitely thoroughly researched, but some of the sections feel like they weren't written with as much interest as the others (especially the Politics chapter). The Food and Drink chapter probably received the most care which, considering that Wilson's main occupation is food criticism and journalism, wasn't that surprising. (What was surprising was her intense dislike of mead!)
March 4, 2019
Lots of really interesting information about the history of beekeeping and the cultural significance of bees, beekeeping, hives and honey in various parts of the world (mainly Europe and America). The author sometimes shades into disapproval for modern times in a way that's not as interesting or well researched as her writing on the topic at hand. It's pretty rare though, and she more than makes up for it with the rest of the content.
October 14, 2017
Insightful and witty, The Hive departs from the well worn subject of apiculture to speak about the apiarists themselves, and is about human psychology as much as it is about bees.
As I read this book, my mind kept creeping back to the thought of the box of honeycomb sitting in my cupboard. The allure of honey is powerful indeed.
As I read this book, my mind kept creeping back to the thought of the box of honeycomb sitting in my cupboard. The allure of honey is powerful indeed.
July 3, 2018
Eerlijk gezegd, ik heb dit boek niet helemaal uitgelezen, ongeveer de helft maar, want al is het onderwerp misschien wel interessant, Bee Wilson blijft wel heel lang stilstaan bij de verschillende onderwerpen. Vlot leest het sowieso al niet en als je ook nog eens het gevoel hebt dat steeds hetzelfde met nog meer argumenten herhaald wordt, raakt de fun er wat af...
November 23, 2020
Nice compilation of stories on honey in human civilization. I had hoped for more information on honey in society today, and more modern history. The book tends to dwell more on ancient historical analyses of the uses of honey. Still, found myself buying more local honey after reading the book so I guess that's ... good?
March 14, 2019
If you know nothing about bees, this is a good book to browse and learn. If you know anything about bees, then the material then the book becomes less interesting. I skimmed it, found the food and recipes section most worthwhile.
February 1, 2022
I found this book astonishingly well researched and detailed, and enjoyed the vast swaths of knowledge imparted within it. With this said, however, the inclusion of recipes between several chapters feels confusing and out of place.
November 27, 2018
Parts of this book were interesting, but it was quite jumbled in places and did not flow very well.
September 22, 2019
Learnt some really interesting things but it dragged a bit and sometimes felt as though there was too much repetition.
January 18, 2022
Lots of interesting information about bees and honey bees in particular, though you have to want to know this stuff otherwise you probably won't make it to the end. Full of details.
October 22, 2022
Excellent. A brilliantly told story of the adventure of learning about a parallel universe and the bridge that connect us.
January 13, 2023
Not what I expected at all. I was disappointed as soon as I read that the author isn't a beekeeper. I liken it to one writing about hockey when they don't know how to skate.
No thanks.
No thanks.
January 30, 2024
Full of facts about bees and how they have influenced humanity.
May 7, 2025
The honey bee parts were fascinating, the Us part was super boring.
September 13, 2015
A history of what we have thought about the honeybee.
It does include a fair amount of biological facts, and historical details about the use of honey and beeswax, but it has even more about the history of the ideas about the honeybee, because it has been quite popular there.
A model of work, often assuming that all the separate tasks (in fact predicated on the worker's age) were in fact assigned by the queen -- or king when they hadn't gotten that straightened out. Hives are one of the commonest symbols of industrious labor.
Roman law trying to figure out whether honeybees were wild or tame, because a tame cow, if it strayed, was still yours, but a tame wolf that got away reverted to wild and freedom. Some writers argued that they were tame because while, like doves, they flew out, they also, like doves, flew back. But what about swarms?
The use of honey as an endearment and in marriage rites. But once you get into hives, "the birds and the bees" do not apply. Indeed, ancient and medieval writers who regarded them as the model of chastity were closer to the truth, because very few of them do have sexual intercourse. And that, of course, only outside the hive. Aristotle observed that no one had ever observed them copulating, and did manage to work out that since young bees did not spontaneously arise from flowers when there were no hives about, somehow the bees had to generate them. It was thousands of years before anyone managed to work out more precisely what they did. During which time they were especially raised by monks and nuns as entirely suitable models for their convents. Widespread beliefs all over the earth about that, from sending a bride through an apiary to see if she was stung as a virginity test, to thinking that they hated adulterers, to refraining from intercourse the night before you did anything with a hive.
The politics of bees. They have never been used as a model of democracies, but writers have portrayed them as perfect monarchies, republics, and, of course, totalitarian dictatorships. (The flexibility of the trope.) Increasing discoveries about sex and bees lead it to be more common to dedicate books to the queen consort than to the sovereign king.
Its use in food and drink, the long prevalence of mead and honey cakes, its fall before the rise of sugar, because once sugar was there to provide pure sweetness, honey had a distinct taste, but its niche market for those after natural sweeteners.
Its use to preserve corpses. How the Greeks used it so much in medicine that Hippocrates found that people associated it with death. Bee stings and whether they have any medicinal values. (Not likely.)
And much more
It does include a fair amount of biological facts, and historical details about the use of honey and beeswax, but it has even more about the history of the ideas about the honeybee, because it has been quite popular there.
A model of work, often assuming that all the separate tasks (in fact predicated on the worker's age) were in fact assigned by the queen -- or king when they hadn't gotten that straightened out. Hives are one of the commonest symbols of industrious labor.
Roman law trying to figure out whether honeybees were wild or tame, because a tame cow, if it strayed, was still yours, but a tame wolf that got away reverted to wild and freedom. Some writers argued that they were tame because while, like doves, they flew out, they also, like doves, flew back. But what about swarms?
The use of honey as an endearment and in marriage rites. But once you get into hives, "the birds and the bees" do not apply. Indeed, ancient and medieval writers who regarded them as the model of chastity were closer to the truth, because very few of them do have sexual intercourse. And that, of course, only outside the hive. Aristotle observed that no one had ever observed them copulating, and did manage to work out that since young bees did not spontaneously arise from flowers when there were no hives about, somehow the bees had to generate them. It was thousands of years before anyone managed to work out more precisely what they did. During which time they were especially raised by monks and nuns as entirely suitable models for their convents. Widespread beliefs all over the earth about that, from sending a bride through an apiary to see if she was stung as a virginity test, to thinking that they hated adulterers, to refraining from intercourse the night before you did anything with a hive.
The politics of bees. They have never been used as a model of democracies, but writers have portrayed them as perfect monarchies, republics, and, of course, totalitarian dictatorships. (The flexibility of the trope.) Increasing discoveries about sex and bees lead it to be more common to dedicate books to the queen consort than to the sovereign king.
Its use in food and drink, the long prevalence of mead and honey cakes, its fall before the rise of sugar, because once sugar was there to provide pure sweetness, honey had a distinct taste, but its niche market for those after natural sweeteners.
Its use to preserve corpses. How the Greeks used it so much in medicine that Hippocrates found that people associated it with death. Bee stings and whether they have any medicinal values. (Not likely.)
And much more
September 25, 2016
A look into the workings of the hive and how people used what they interpreted of these workings to coincide with their beliefs made this an interesting read. For over a thousand years man has used honey but did not know exactly how it was made by the bees or even how baby bees came into being. As people conjectured how the bee colony went about its business, the ideas they had about the inner life of the hive were correlated to political, religious, and moral thinking of the times.
A history on the management of bees is discussed as well as some weird ways honey was put to use through the years. There were some gross out moments here and there (such is the nature of honey and its history) but these were tempered by the scholarly work on this subject as a whole.
One surprise occurred while reading this book. In one chapter Ms. Wilson mentions a story by Frank Stockton called the Bee-Man of Orn which just happened to be one of the selections in another book I was reading at the same time called Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment. Life is full of strange coincidences.
A history on the management of bees is discussed as well as some weird ways honey was put to use through the years. There were some gross out moments here and there (such is the nature of honey and its history) but these were tempered by the scholarly work on this subject as a whole.
One surprise occurred while reading this book. In one chapter Ms. Wilson mentions a story by Frank Stockton called the Bee-Man of Orn which just happened to be one of the selections in another book I was reading at the same time called Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment. Life is full of strange coincidences.
December 23, 2016
I began to keep a beehive this year, and while I bought The Beekeeper's Bible for technical guidance, I found that I already had another book on bees that I'd purchased the year before but hadn't yet read - "The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us" by Bee Wilson. The book is a delight, though it is more a cultural history of bees and people, and much less an entomological discussion, and that is all to the good. Wilson places bees, their golden honey, and beekeeping in historical context, and the insights she brings show how and why these creatures have fascinated humans for millennia. The chapters (titled Work, Sex, Politics, Food and Drink, Life and Death, the Beekeeper) can stand alone and be read in almost any order, and they appeal to general readers of almost any age as well as novice beekeepers. There is much to be learned, and Ms. Wilson's rhetorical style is so charming that the book should delight even those without a personal interest in the creatures. Highly recommended for the curious.
July 28, 2011
"Bee" Wilson is not a beekeeper. She admits to being afraid of bees. (perhaps a manifest fear of herself?) I was rolling my eyes by the end of chapter one when Ms. Wilson explains her qualification to publish a book on bees via her given name, Beatrice. She's always been Bee, not Bea, and her parents didn't call her Wasp! This kind of ignorance is exactly what we beekeepers are fighting against all the time. Wasps are not bees. If Ms. Wilson doesn't know that, maybe this isn't a good topic for her.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews