Customer Reviews

A Short History of the Honey Bee: Humans, Flowers, and Bees in the Eternal Chase for Honey

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Timber Press has published a wide variety of quality books on plants and related areas. This clearly is a related area. It is a book by someone who really loves bees, a compliment. It has wonderful photographs and a delightful flow of the story of the author's dealings with this creatures.

However, it is not strong on the scientific side, and is really a light hearted tale of the author and the honey bee. I had hoped that it would have been a bit stronger on the bee, the bee families, the details of some of the problems bees face today, and frankly something a bit more filled with content rather than experience.

The book is enjoyable, but there was an ambiguity of expectations. I have seen this more and more with Timber in that they have wonderful picture books but lack the depth one would like in a more technical presentation.

All in all the author has done a good job at what was the initial intent.

Edward Readicker-Henderson's suburban upbringing featured bees rather than a swimming pool in the backyard. His experience with honey is intimate and passionate, and fueled by long hours of observation. He writes on the first morning living with bees: "By the time I peeked over the sill, they were already well into their day, entirely busy, busy as bees, going about their fine business of transforming the world into a taste, gathering up the terrain, flower by flower."

The book has plenty of quirky facts, for instance, it takes two million flower visits and 50,000 miles of flying to make a pound of honey. There's rich information about beekeeping through history, fascinating bee dances, and the hive's complex culture.

But more than that, this book is a celebration of honey. Readicker-Henderson calls a jar of honey "a voyage of discovery, a promise of risk and reward." He calls a taste of honey "a pure and flawless moment in the world."

The author has spent a lifetime chasing honey around the globe, sampling the sweet expression of landscapes as diverse as the deserts of the Middle East and the jungles of South Africa.

This inspiring prose is really an ode to the magical elixir of the Gods that is honey. It's a wonderful read, and will make you consider honey as never before.

I found this book to be terrific. There is so much joy in the prose and it is a fun, informative read without being overly technical. The pictures were outstanding.

This is also a GREAT gift book.