Keeping Bees And Making Honey [Paperback]

Alison Benjamin (Author), Brian McCallum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2008

You don't need acres of secluded gardens to be able to keep bees - hives can be found on many an urban rooftop, inner-city balcony or mounted on walls in the strangest of places. Keeping Bees and Making Honey covers everything you need to consider before you set up your colony - including when and how to tell the neighbors.

Packed with images, information, practical advice, recipes and gardening tips, Keeping Bees and Making Honey is the ideal companion for every aspiring beekeeper.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alison Benjamin is a Guardian journalist. She writes on environmental issues and social affairs and currently edits The Guardian's environment website. Brian McCallum is a designer, builder and yachtsman. Alison and Brian—who now studies apiculture—have many hives in different locations across London. Their blog, www.urbanbees.co.uk provides a fascinating insight into beekeeping in the city.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles; 1St Edition edition (May 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715328107
• ISBN-13: 978-0715328101
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Insects & Spiders

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best photography of any bee book I've seen so far., September 29, 2009

By 

Mr John Little (Nagano, Japan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keeping Bees And Making Honey (Paperback)

This is a beautifully produced book with some really excellent photography; it should be mandatory to furnish dentist's waiting rooms with at least one copy (not only would it successfully distract the patients, but we'd also end up with more beekeepers in the world... and all of them with good teeth). The text is informative and straightforward (although I did find the chapter sequencing a little puzzling and personally would have preferred to see the gardening, honey and products chapters shuffled to the back and all of the essential beekeeping information consolidated). I found the chapter on gardening for bees to be especially interesting and relevant though, along with the plant-to-honey-type cross-reference table, and have been diligently planting seeds to provide my hives with some early spring blooms based on that content.
The beekeeping information is as up to date as you'd expect for a 2008 book with, for instance, a reference to dusting the bees with icing sugar as a method for controlling mite infestation. Although not perhaps as comprehensive as Sammataro and Avitabile's "The Beekeepers Handbook", the photography and sections on an introduction to beekeeping certainly compensate. U.K. readers especially will appreciate the references and use throughout the book of the familiar WBC, double-walled hive.
This is an engaging book on several levels. The first and most obvious is as a coffee-table book which will interest young and old alike. Secondly, it's a great source of well illustrated information for the novice, or yet to be, beekeeper. For the more experienced, it's one of those books which is nice to have to hand to show to friends and neighbours (or anyone taking an interest in your bees). It has content which will also appeal to the gardener and to the city dweller, as well as to anyone interested in ecology and the environment. An excellent buy.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginning Book, September 5, 2008

By 

Busy Homeschool Mom (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping Bees And Making Honey (Paperback)

Great book for beginning beekeepers! Loads of info on bees,starting out with bees, and bee products. Answers to questions that I hadn't even thought to ask!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and Understandable, January 19, 2009

By 

geminga - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keeping Bees And Making Honey (Paperback)

Easy to understand book for the beginner to bee keeping. Lots of pictures and good information to get you started in this facinating hobby.