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Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper
A year in the life of New York City's premier beekeeper, who charmingly chronicles his adventures and the quirky personalities he encounters while spreading his infinite knowledge of and passion for the remarkable honey bee.
Andrew Coté takes readers through the world of Big Apple beekeeping, complete with its eccentric players, rivalries, and celebrations. But Coté's travels as an apiarist go far beyond city limits, from rural Uganda to warn-torn Iraq, from a remote Chinese hospital to Paris's Notre Dame, to the rocky regions of Kenya to remote Fijian islands--anywhere that honey bees can thrive and improve the lives of those who tend them. He shares all of these moments and more with his trademark humor and verve, resulting in a delightful and informative read about these most magical creatures.
Andrew Coté takes readers through the world of Big Apple beekeeping, complete with its eccentric players, rivalries, and celebrations. But Coté's travels as an apiarist go far beyond city limits, from rural Uganda to warn-torn Iraq, from a remote Chinese hospital to Paris's Notre Dame, to the rocky regions of Kenya to remote Fijian islands--anywhere that honey bees can thrive and improve the lives of those who tend them. He shares all of these moments and more with his trademark humor and verve, resulting in a delightful and informative read about these most magical creatures.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2020
80 people are currently reading
4311 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Cote
6 books12 followersAndrew Coté is New York City’s most well-known beekeeper. A fourth-generation apiarist, he is founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association, executive director of the nonprofit Bees Without Borders, polyglot, Fulbright scholar, black belt in aikido, and former college professor. Coté and his bees have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, CNN, CBS, Cake Boss, Dr. Oz, Nightline, Good Morning America, and Today, and in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, HuffPost, and many other news outlets around the world. Coté also runs Andrew’s Honey out of the NYC Union Square Greenmarket.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
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September 21, 2020I'm always pleased to find another book on bees. The last one I read was Show Me the Honey! which I enjoyed a lot. I'm allergic to bee sting and I don't like honey all that much, but I find this particular kind of keeping livestock, of farming, to be fascinating. It is also one of the very, very few kinds of farming where although the animals are kept and fed, they are also by necessity free range.
The only kind I know of is faux gras, not fois gras. Oh one other, cattle farming on the island.
The cows are all free range. We feed them, all of us without cattle grids feed them, they come into the garden and eat whatever they like. They sit there, a couple of cows with their calves, or a herd of up to ten cows, bulls and offspring and look at you insolently if you tell them to move off. Most of the baby bulls are culled, but the cows not until they are past calf-breeding. It does make for tough meat though, but ethically tough meat.
The only kind I know of is faux gras, not fois gras. Oh one other, cattle farming on the island.
The cows are all free range. We feed them, all of us without cattle grids feed them, they come into the garden and eat whatever they like. They sit there, a couple of cows with their calves, or a herd of up to ten cows, bulls and offspring and look at you insolently if you tell them to move off. Most of the baby bulls are culled, but the cows not until they are past calf-breeding. It does make for tough meat though, but ethically tough meat.
July 2, 2020
I have read many bee books in my lifetime, as an avid gardener you must have an affinity for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. While I enjoy bee stories, I unfortunately was put off by the authors ego... I found his puffing and self back patting a major distraction, coupled with his infinite wisdom, mockery of others and name dropping, NONE of that is compatible in my world of gardening, give me hardworking and humble any day...
August 10, 2021
Click here to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive.
A memoir of New York City's most famous beekeeper, Honey and Venom contains fantastic stories of the husbanding of tiny insects in America's most important city. It's both funny and informative with lots of great information about bees!
A memoir of New York City's most famous beekeeper, Honey and Venom contains fantastic stories of the husbanding of tiny insects in America's most important city. It's both funny and informative with lots of great information about bees!
February 2, 2021
All of the reviews about the author’s ego are 100% accurate. This would’ve been a much more interesting book if it included more about urban beekeeping and the history of beekeeping versus the author’s life. I mean at one point he talks about sleeping with another beekeeper who has a husband who ends up finding out and painting a portrait of her, dead, covered in bees? Not the book I signed up for... I couldn’t make it much past the first 100 pages.
November 21, 2020
Reading this book was like watching a man masturbate. Just another book where the ego is bigger than the message.
September 20, 2020
I did not think that the most egomaniacal character I would ever come across would be an urban beekeeper, but here we are. This book is full of interesting facts—you could ship children via USPS until 1920, bees can feel the pull of gravity and use that sense to build honeycomb, they anger at the scent of bananas, elephants fear bees, etc.—and some cool stories about urban bee life, but Coté’s name dropping and mockery of others really slowed this book down for me. His tangents come off as both braggadocious and self-deprecating. Beautiful book cover, though.
June 14, 2020
This is just delightful. Andrew is a major character, writes well, and is FULL of information.
He's the beekeeper for the roof bees at my office building in NYC, so I know him, but the book is every bit as charming as he is. [And no, he didn't ask for a review and I bought my own copy of the book.]
Usually I just see him at the Union Square Greenmarket, because he tends to tend the bees early early in the morning. One day, though, he turned up in our upstairs office lobby in the middle of the afternoon, carrying a cardboard box. The box was about the size of a case of wine and had a piece of screen taped in place over one of the sides. Yup - the box was full of bees, a swarm he'd just picked up, and he was on his way up to our roof to "top up" the hives. The building manager & I followed him, curious. Standing a reasonable distance away, we watched as he opened a hive, opened the cardboard box, and poured the bees into the hive ... it was like he was pouring a bowl of Cheerios.
Honey & Venom is a great, readable diversion.
He's the beekeeper for the roof bees at my office building in NYC, so I know him, but the book is every bit as charming as he is. [And no, he didn't ask for a review and I bought my own copy of the book.]
Usually I just see him at the Union Square Greenmarket, because he tends to tend the bees early early in the morning. One day, though, he turned up in our upstairs office lobby in the middle of the afternoon, carrying a cardboard box. The box was about the size of a case of wine and had a piece of screen taped in place over one of the sides. Yup - the box was full of bees, a swarm he'd just picked up, and he was on his way up to our roof to "top up" the hives. The building manager & I followed him, curious. Standing a reasonable distance away, we watched as he opened a hive, opened the cardboard box, and poured the bees into the hive ... it was like he was pouring a bowl of Cheerios.
Honey & Venom is a great, readable diversion.
July 3, 2021
Not an uninteresting book, but the author severely overestimates his charm and probably thinks of himself as the Anthony Bourdain of the bee world. Everyone he interacts with is cast as either someone who is smart enough to do everything his way, or stupid and on the wrong side of beekeeping. In the first chapter, he talks about doing charity bee work in Africa, and by his description, you’d think the people he’s trying to teach have barely evolved the ability to stand upright. And why oh why devote several pages to bragging about sleeping with someone’s wife? It was not an interesting story and was just an opportunity to tell the reader he scored. And the NAME DROPPING! Yuck.
I’m so grateful that the pioneers of urban beekeeping in my city of Washington, DC are so much more humble and kind.
I’m so grateful that the pioneers of urban beekeeping in my city of Washington, DC are so much more humble and kind.
February 16, 2021
Most of my opinions on this book are easily seen in the other reviews and unfortunately, they aren't all filled with kind words for this author. Let me start by saying I was looking forward to the topics this book was said to cover, however, I was unprepared for the amount of memoir that the writing was based around. That was on me for the lack of research I had done on Mr. Cote and his accomplishments and if you didn't think they were many, don't worry, he will tell you again and again. Therein lies my biggest complaint about this writing - there is absolutely no humility or modesty in his style recounting the amazing career he has had. It feels as though he is trying to convince us that he is important and that he has made an impact rather than allowing his sweeping experiences speak for themselves and in the end, those accomplishments are watered down by name dropping and blase attitude toward his privilege and those who he has come into contact with. Don't get me wrong, the work he has done is immense had Bees Without Borders has no doubt helped many communities, but his attitude toward the people and places he has been come across as selfish and uncaring which I know is not what the organization stands for.
Ultimately I was disappointed to hear his lack of empathy and gratitude based on the experience he has had in rural and impoverished countries. Even in these instances, Mr. Cote's tone comes off as condescending which was a shame to read as someone who was in the book for the information from an established professional in the industry. I will say, the 40% of interesting bee facts and apiary information was worth plowing through the 60% of the book based on self-congratulations and disinterested name-dropping so I was able to walk away feeling more appreciative for the bees I see even if this author made me feel foolish for not knowing the information already.
Ultimately I was disappointed to hear his lack of empathy and gratitude based on the experience he has had in rural and impoverished countries. Even in these instances, Mr. Cote's tone comes off as condescending which was a shame to read as someone who was in the book for the information from an established professional in the industry. I will say, the 40% of interesting bee facts and apiary information was worth plowing through the 60% of the book based on self-congratulations and disinterested name-dropping so I was able to walk away feeling more appreciative for the bees I see even if this author made me feel foolish for not knowing the information already.
March 14, 2020
An interesting memoir about an urban beekeeper in NYC. Part memoir, part history of bees. It leads pretty well over. Casual but interesting. A few bits bordered on self congratulatory, bug brief enough that I could overlook them.
Full disclosure- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2021
The premise of this book sounded interesting but I couldn’t make it more than a few chapters in. The author was pretentious, the stories weren’t compelling, and there was a gross white savior narrative throughout how the author talked about their nonprofit. I couldn’t finish it and don’t recommend.
August 6, 2024
What a pretentious ass.
April 25, 2020
Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper by Andrew Coté, published by Ballantine Books, is an amazing memoir by an urban beekeeper and international nonprofit educator, encompassing an all-around journey through the many seasons of Coté's life as a beekeeper. The book is simultaneously deeply personal and colorfully captivating as each chapter meanders through stories from the author's career, his personal life, and endless interesting facts about the incredible honey bee.
Andrew Coté is the founder of the New York City Beekeeper's Association and the executive director of Bees Without Borders, an international nonprofit that assists in developing beekeeping projects and educating new generations of beekeepers in every corner of the world. While a fourth-generation beekeeper who often works alongside his father and other family members, Honey and Venom takes readers through how Coté came to keep bees on his own accord and the countless journies it has taken him on ever since.
Honey and Venom is broken down into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year. This framing device allows every chapter to begin with one story taking place in that month of the year for Coté to come back to as he weaves tale after tale of his, his family's, and his friends' lives as beekeepers. The structure helps set a sense of progression as the seasons change and the stories can build off one another chapter-to-chapter as Coté explains the life and business of bees (and their keepers) living in the northeastern United States.
Coté's mastery over words in Honey and Venom alone is enough to make every last page utterly captivating. The way he is able to tell stories within stories is phenomenal and his wide vernacular is just bold enough to teeter the right side of the line between exciting and excessive. He has countless ways to describe the majesty of bees throughout the book without ever having to repeat himself or blunder. While the book holds a crude joke or description here or there, it is clearly a reflection of Coté's joviality and not his lack of creative expression.
One might think that a beekeeper would run out of tales to tell after only so long; a few bad bee stings, a poor honey yield, and maybe something about Colony Collapse Disorder. One would, however, be so, so wrong. Coté's experiences over his beekeeping career are so varied, eclectic, and unexpected that as soon as you begin a new chapter you are instantly enthralled with a new story and then three more equally engaging ones emerge over the next five pages alone. His ability to deliver so many unique and worthwhile stories is, in part, the result of having his hand in so many pots at once. Coté's various urban beekeeping and honey-selling ventures around the world are always interesting. What really helps everything shine though, is all of the ways Coté shines lights on his friends and family as well.
Virtually all of the stories in Honey and Venom feature the life and times of the many people Coté has met along his way. The way he pays love, respect, and reverence to so many of his friends, family, and mentors helps not only provide him with even more diverse stories, it simply makes the book stronger.
Coté is perfectly aware of the vast privileges he holds and has taken advantage of over his life to achieve the success he has. He makes reference to it frequently. However, he also pays enormous respect to the folks he works with who do not enjoy the same privileges and makes it clear not through any specific words he writes, but through the reverence for all of these people he pays along the way. While Honey and Venom is a memoir from a single man's perspective, it is palpable just through his own love and admiration for the people in his life that he strives to do all he can to lift others up through the success and good fortune he has enjoyed.
I wholeheartedly recommend Honey and Venom to not just readers with interests as eclectic as mine, but to anybody who simply enjoys reading well-written and absolutely captivating stories. One needs not to have any experience with honey bees or their keepers to learn a lot and be enthralled by Coté's writing and the stories he tells.
Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper will be available June 9th wherever books are sold.
Andrew Coté is the founder of the New York City Beekeeper's Association and the executive director of Bees Without Borders, an international nonprofit that assists in developing beekeeping projects and educating new generations of beekeepers in every corner of the world. While a fourth-generation beekeeper who often works alongside his father and other family members, Honey and Venom takes readers through how Coté came to keep bees on his own accord and the countless journies it has taken him on ever since.
Honey and Venom is broken down into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year. This framing device allows every chapter to begin with one story taking place in that month of the year for Coté to come back to as he weaves tale after tale of his, his family's, and his friends' lives as beekeepers. The structure helps set a sense of progression as the seasons change and the stories can build off one another chapter-to-chapter as Coté explains the life and business of bees (and their keepers) living in the northeastern United States.
Coté's mastery over words in Honey and Venom alone is enough to make every last page utterly captivating. The way he is able to tell stories within stories is phenomenal and his wide vernacular is just bold enough to teeter the right side of the line between exciting and excessive. He has countless ways to describe the majesty of bees throughout the book without ever having to repeat himself or blunder. While the book holds a crude joke or description here or there, it is clearly a reflection of Coté's joviality and not his lack of creative expression.
One might think that a beekeeper would run out of tales to tell after only so long; a few bad bee stings, a poor honey yield, and maybe something about Colony Collapse Disorder. One would, however, be so, so wrong. Coté's experiences over his beekeeping career are so varied, eclectic, and unexpected that as soon as you begin a new chapter you are instantly enthralled with a new story and then three more equally engaging ones emerge over the next five pages alone. His ability to deliver so many unique and worthwhile stories is, in part, the result of having his hand in so many pots at once. Coté's various urban beekeeping and honey-selling ventures around the world are always interesting. What really helps everything shine though, is all of the ways Coté shines lights on his friends and family as well.
Virtually all of the stories in Honey and Venom feature the life and times of the many people Coté has met along his way. The way he pays love, respect, and reverence to so many of his friends, family, and mentors helps not only provide him with even more diverse stories, it simply makes the book stronger.
Coté is perfectly aware of the vast privileges he holds and has taken advantage of over his life to achieve the success he has. He makes reference to it frequently. However, he also pays enormous respect to the folks he works with who do not enjoy the same privileges and makes it clear not through any specific words he writes, but through the reverence for all of these people he pays along the way. While Honey and Venom is a memoir from a single man's perspective, it is palpable just through his own love and admiration for the people in his life that he strives to do all he can to lift others up through the success and good fortune he has enjoyed.
I wholeheartedly recommend Honey and Venom to not just readers with interests as eclectic as mine, but to anybody who simply enjoys reading well-written and absolutely captivating stories. One needs not to have any experience with honey bees or their keepers to learn a lot and be enthralled by Coté's writing and the stories he tells.
Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper will be available June 9th wherever books are sold.
March 15, 2020
Disclaimer: I received this book from GoodReads as part of the First Reads program.
As a child, I had my fair number of bee stings, which left me frightened of bees like most people. As I got older, I learned that honey bees are actually quite docile, and will leave you alone if you don't become a threat. Twenty years ago, my landlord's son started beekeeping as a hobby, putting three hives in the lawn behind my apartment. I was getting into photography at the time, and he invited my to photograph him when he opened his hives to check for honey and do other maintenance things that beekeepers do to maintain their hives. It was fascinating. This book, by a professional urban beekeeper who maintains hives throughout New York City and its environs, is also fascinating. The author is the founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association (NYCBA) and Bees Without Borders (BWB). He also sells his own products under the name Andrew's Honey. There are twelve chapters, January through December, where he details various experiences he's had, in the city and around the world, in his work as a beekeeper and educator for beekeepers. I had never imagined that there are hives of bees on the tops of buildings throughout NYC. I would guess the same is true of the city where I work, Philadelphia. If you have any interest at all in bees and beekeeping culture, I can't recommend this book enough. It was a fantastic, fast read.
As a child, I had my fair number of bee stings, which left me frightened of bees like most people. As I got older, I learned that honey bees are actually quite docile, and will leave you alone if you don't become a threat. Twenty years ago, my landlord's son started beekeeping as a hobby, putting three hives in the lawn behind my apartment. I was getting into photography at the time, and he invited my to photograph him when he opened his hives to check for honey and do other maintenance things that beekeepers do to maintain their hives. It was fascinating. This book, by a professional urban beekeeper who maintains hives throughout New York City and its environs, is also fascinating. The author is the founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association (NYCBA) and Bees Without Borders (BWB). He also sells his own products under the name Andrew's Honey. There are twelve chapters, January through December, where he details various experiences he's had, in the city and around the world, in his work as a beekeeper and educator for beekeepers. I had never imagined that there are hives of bees on the tops of buildings throughout NYC. I would guess the same is true of the city where I work, Philadelphia. If you have any interest at all in bees and beekeeping culture, I can't recommend this book enough. It was a fantastic, fast read.
May 15, 2020
Wild stories involving beekeeping in NYC, as well as all over the world.
It's not meant as a tutorial on how to keep bees, but there's still tons of interesting information on what bees are up to at any given time of the year, why they may behave a certain way, how they function as a hive, and so on. You won't be lost if you don't know anything about the subject matter.
In a day and age where preserving ecosystems are paramount to our own survival, education on the role(s) of animals essential, bees being among them. If you're interested in learning but repelled by the dryness of a textbook, then this is a fantastic on-ramp. Sure, you're hearing about a lot of extreme and/or incredibly rare instances, but those are the coolest stories, right?
Cote writes about much of the strife associated with various individuals/fellow beekeepers, which seems like it would naturally come with decades of experience, as well as curtail his own global exposure as an ambassador for urban beekeeping.
Incredibly interesting, endearing, and informative.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Ballantine Books for the advance read.
It's not meant as a tutorial on how to keep bees, but there's still tons of interesting information on what bees are up to at any given time of the year, why they may behave a certain way, how they function as a hive, and so on. You won't be lost if you don't know anything about the subject matter.
In a day and age where preserving ecosystems are paramount to our own survival, education on the role(s) of animals essential, bees being among them. If you're interested in learning but repelled by the dryness of a textbook, then this is a fantastic on-ramp. Sure, you're hearing about a lot of extreme and/or incredibly rare instances, but those are the coolest stories, right?
Cote writes about much of the strife associated with various individuals/fellow beekeepers, which seems like it would naturally come with decades of experience, as well as curtail his own global exposure as an ambassador for urban beekeeping.
Incredibly interesting, endearing, and informative.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Ballantine Books for the advance read.
July 6, 2020
A meandering memoir...
Honey and Venom is a book apparently much influenced by its subject. It zigs and zags through fields of memory as a bee through more flowery pastures. Some may appreciate this relaxed, winding style. Others may find it a bit tiresome. There are certainly many moments of interest: daring tales of celebrity, worldwide adventure, and teaching. There are also many moments of claptrap, seemingly unrelated to the task at hand, which often wander on a bit longer than they should.
While this may be an enlivening read for the Andrew Cote fan club, I believe it may have been better served by more focused editing.
Honey and Venom is a book apparently much influenced by its subject. It zigs and zags through fields of memory as a bee through more flowery pastures. Some may appreciate this relaxed, winding style. Others may find it a bit tiresome. There are certainly many moments of interest: daring tales of celebrity, worldwide adventure, and teaching. There are also many moments of claptrap, seemingly unrelated to the task at hand, which often wander on a bit longer than they should.
While this may be an enlivening read for the Andrew Cote fan club, I believe it may have been better served by more focused editing.
September 7, 2021
Enjoyable! I absolutely love farming/homesteading-y memoirs, and I found like four at the library the other day, this being one of them, and so I am very happy. :) (Note to self, though, just DON'T go to the library any more. XD XD XD You are killing your TBR by neglect.) (If I didn't say this already...I got out 11 books from the library and none of them were on my TBR. 😅)
Annnnnnyway, this was a really interesting and enjoyable read! There was some mild vulgarity and swearing, for which I will knock it down to 3.5 stars. Which of course is immediately rounded back up to 4 for GR, so did I really do anything? Maybe not.
Annnnnnyway, this was a really interesting and enjoyable read! There was some mild vulgarity and swearing, for which I will knock it down to 3.5 stars. Which of course is immediately rounded back up to 4 for GR, so did I really do anything? Maybe not.
March 22, 2020
A humorous memoir of a NYC beekeeper. Its Cote’s journey through beekeeping and his relationship with the bees and honey! If you wanna know about bees and beekeeping, read this book. Informative, light read and a good outdoorsy book.
Thank you NetGalley, Andrew Cote and Random House publishing for reader’s copy of this book. This review is not influenced and is my own opinion of the book.
Thank you NetGalley, Andrew Cote and Random House publishing for reader’s copy of this book. This review is not influenced and is my own opinion of the book.
September 22, 2020
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
March 21, 2023
I liked the information on beekeeping but the book was too much of his ego and name dropping.
December 25, 2020
Andrew Cote comes from generations of beekeepers. He started helping his dad with beekeeping when he was a kid and continued, but started to get more serious as he got older. He eventually left a career in academia to work as a full time beekeeper. While he lives in Connecticut, he keeps bees all over New York City - on the rooftops of many famous buildings. He founded the organization New York City Beekeepers Association to help lobby New York City to allow urban beekeeping again (it had been made illegal in 1999 by Mayor Giuliani) and also a nonprofit called Bees Without Borders to help people in other countries become more successful beekeepers. In this book Cote goes through a year of beekeeping - January through December. Each month highlights what beekeepers would be doing during that time of year and also some of his personal beekeeping experiences. While parts of the book were very interesting in some chapters his personal stories felt forced into the chapter. There were also several un-necessary/unwelcome sexual jokes or innuendos that felt forced and didn't add to the book (or make him look good) at all. He obviously knows honey bees and is interested in sharing his knowledge and helping other beekeepers. Overall, the book was good, but not great. I think some changes in his personal stories or more/better editing could have made it an amazing book.
A quote I liked:
[Bees on NASA space ships to see how honey bees would react to zero gravity] "In space, the lack of gravity influenced the bees to build their honeycomb at odd angles and not to the perfect pitch of the Earth that they normally would. They also, initially, could not fly, and just walked around, but by the end of the week they had worked out how to fly in their new environs. Honey bees are quick studies." (p. 57)
A quote I liked:
[Bees on NASA space ships to see how honey bees would react to zero gravity] "In space, the lack of gravity influenced the bees to build their honeycomb at odd angles and not to the perfect pitch of the Earth that they normally would. They also, initially, could not fly, and just walked around, but by the end of the week they had worked out how to fly in their new environs. Honey bees are quick studies." (p. 57)
April 14, 2024
I picked this book upon the recommendation of BookTube's A Book Olive and I was glad I finally picked this one up. I knew next to nothing about honeybees and beekeeping. Coté did a great job explaining all things honeybee and urban (specifically NYC) beekeeping. He didn't get overly technical and all of his anecdotes about his exploits were interesting. He broke the chapters into months of the year so we could get a sense about what he and the bees were doing during that month.
I found this book to be fascinating, heartbreaking at times, but never dull. I'd recommend this to any nature and/or animal lover.
I found this book to be fascinating, heartbreaking at times, but never dull. I'd recommend this to any nature and/or animal lover.
June 17, 2024
Thanks, @PRHAudio, for the #gifted audiobook. #PRHAudioPartner #sponsored
With his heavy accent and heavier ego, the author/narrator reminded me of the late Anthony Bourdain and kept me entertained for the duration of the nine-hour audiobook. He does come off as a name-dropping braggart, but I still enjoyed the stories of bees and his exploits as an urban beekeeper.
Instead of summarizing the book, I offer the author’s bio from GoodReads. It should tell you everything you need to know about the book:
“Andrew Coté is New York City’s most well-known beekeeper. A fourth-generation apiarist, he is the founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association, executive director of the nonprofit Bees Without Borders, polyglot, Fulbright scholar, black belt in Aikido, and former college professor. Coté and his bees have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, CNN, CBS, Cake Boss, Dr. Oz, Nightline, Good Morning America, and Today, and in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, HuffPost, and many other news outlets around the world.”
With his heavy accent and heavier ego, the author/narrator reminded me of the late Anthony Bourdain and kept me entertained for the duration of the nine-hour audiobook. He does come off as a name-dropping braggart, but I still enjoyed the stories of bees and his exploits as an urban beekeeper.
Instead of summarizing the book, I offer the author’s bio from GoodReads. It should tell you everything you need to know about the book:
“Andrew Coté is New York City’s most well-known beekeeper. A fourth-generation apiarist, he is the founder of the New York City Beekeepers Association, executive director of the nonprofit Bees Without Borders, polyglot, Fulbright scholar, black belt in Aikido, and former college professor. Coté and his bees have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, CNN, CBS, Cake Boss, Dr. Oz, Nightline, Good Morning America, and Today, and in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, HuffPost, and many other news outlets around the world.”
July 6, 2020
This one popped up on my library's website, I thought it worth checking out. There is something about bee-keeping that appeals to me, not something that I would want to do, but I like hearing about it, it seems so mysterious, taming the little things that could hurt you. Plus you get the added bonus of delicious honey. This one was ok as I read it, but just not enough to keep me interested enough to go on.
March 4, 2024
I so enjoyed this book! I learned many new facts about bees and all about the previously unknown-to-me world of urban beekeeping. Who would have thought there are beehives on some of roofs of the most prominent buildings in NYC, including the UN building. The stories of Cote's work for Bees Without Borders in places like Kenya and Iraq were positively riveting. It is definitely a 'confessions' book as the author isn't afraid to air out some people's dirty laundry, while calling them by name. It was quite funny at times. Overall, an incredibly fascinating read and I recommend it without hesitation.
July 13, 2023
An enjoyable memoir. Although apparently a celebrity in the bee world, it was refreshing to read a memoir about passion, vision, and hard work rather than drugs, sex, and the hardships of fame. The tales from NYC and around the world are pretty amazing! Great summer read. Time to visit the local market.
June 18, 2020
This memoir of a NYC urban beekeeper is informative, entertaining and well written. A very enjoyable read.
April 29, 2020
This seems to be a very well-written book about beekeeping and the author's life and experiences, broken up by month, but the writing was hard for me to get through. It's not an easy read, and I frequently found myself going over paragraphs a couple of time to sort out the thread. Anecdotes are thrown in seemingly at random, and while they're interesting, they make it hard to follow along. I wanted to enjoy it, but ultimately couldn't.
This would be a good book for people interested in learning more about beekeeping.
I read this as an ARC from NetGalley.
This would be a good book for people interested in learning more about beekeeping.
I read this as an ARC from NetGalley.
June 1, 2020
A fascinating introduction to the world of bees, delivered with humor.
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