Customer Reviews

Keeping Bees And Making Honey

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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

Keep your money. There are many other better books out there...this is too basic for even new beekeepers. I bought it and promptly returned it. Invest instead in Hive Management by Richard Bonney, Backyard Beekeeping by Kim Flottum, and for a fun reads try Bad Beekeeping by Ron Miksha or Honeybee: Lessons from an accidently beekeeper by Marina Marchese.

Nice book to have, has some interesting information and I like the photos. However, if you can only buy a few beekeeping books, I prefer Richard Bonney's books and especially Kim Flottum's "The Backyard Beekeeper".

A friend loaned me this book because I am looking to start a hive in the spring. I had started with "Beekeeping for Dummies" first, and found it incredibly helpful; it's very informative, specific and gives you anything you need to know on keeping bees, down to handling problems and installing bees, all in a step-by-step fashion. For someone new to bees, I'd recommend that one.

But I'd also recommend a book such as this one. "Keeping Bees and Making Honey" is easy to read, understandable, and conversational - there are less rigid directions, and honestly, it's FUN to read. Not that "Dummies" isn't fun - but "Keeping Bees..." is a nice break from the step-by-step direction of "Dummies." In fact, if I WEREN'T planning on keeping bees, I would still find this book fascinating just to learn more about the intricacies of the colony, how they make honey, and which flowers to plant to encourage bees.

The only few cons that I can see for the novice beekeeper mostly surround the fact that the book is a British publication. Because of that, there are several pieces of equipment (specifically parts of the hive) that they use different terms for. If you can figure them out, or know your stuff enough not to get confused, you'll be fine. The instructions aren't so detailed that I would follow it to the letter when I actually do any of those things anyway. It's certainly not vital.

So overall, it's a great book with great photographs, great writing style, and fun to read! Highly recommended!

Althought this text is not Dadant approved/published, it is a very comprehensive and informative guide for beginning honey beekeeping that gives the new apiarist all they need to know to get started and through their 2nd season.

When I retire in a few years I wanted to find a hobby which would be ecologically beneficial and potentially financially rewarding. I thought about beekeeping and sought out an introductory book. This one has some valuable lessons, good information, and a realistic slant on what commitment you need as a beekeeper.

A very infomative book for the beginning beekeeper. This is something that more and more people are looking to do now with the local food thing. This book will give you insite on beekeeping and maybe someday will prompt you to start your own hives.

Good book lots of info in it . Bought it for my husband because he is wanting to get into the bee keeping .