The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting [Hardcover]

Eva Crane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0415924677 | ISBN-13: 978-0415924672 | Edition: 1

This definitive work by world-renowned bee authority Eva Crane offers a fascinating account of bees and their complex relations with both humans and animals. Comprehensive, absorbing, and lavishly illustrated, this scholarly, yet accessible volume explores how bees, honey and other bee products have been gathered and utilized throughout the world.
Beginning with the rock paintings of the Mesolithic cave dwellers, readers will learn about the variety of methods used by human beekeepers, the stratagems used by animal honey-hunters, and the multitude of products humans have derived from bees. The first in-depth book on the subject, the "World History of Beekeeping and Honey-Hunting" is the ultimate work on bees for scholars in biology and the life sciences, professional and amateur beekeepers, and anyone who is interested in bees or the collection of honey.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highly recommended as an outstanding source of information in bees and beekeeping. General readers; undergraduates through professionals." -- Choice

About the Author

Eva Crane was director of the International Bee Research Association for 35 years, and is one of the world's leading authorities on bees. Her other books include The Archaeology of Beekeeping (1984), Bees and Beekeeping: Science Practices and World Resources and From Where I Sit: Essays on Bees, Beekeeping, and Science.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 720 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (October 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415924677
• ISBN-13: 978-0415924672
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expensive Addition to Beekeeping Library, March 7, 2009

By 

A. S. Templeton (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting (Hardcover)

The Author provides very good coverage in the areas with which she and her network of peers were familiar. But belying the book's title, there are huge gaps in her knowledge -- for which she does allow and begs forgiveness.

Her field research and travels in parts of Europe, the Middle East and Southeast-Asia places greatly influence -- perhaps too much -- her coverage of beekeeping in these areas. She provides good general coverage of traditional hives in history and in current usage.

However, her research pretty much stops at 1998 or so, and thus has little to say about the recent proliferation of top bar and other unframed hives in "emerging economies" and in the West.

Substantially missing are discussion of post-Langstroth developments in hive design and beekeeping methodology. For instance, the early-mid 20th Century writings of Abbé Émile Warré and later non-Rationalist trends in beekeeping are not mentioned. Warré's Ruche Populaire (People's Hive) has been rescued from a half-century of obscurity, and is gaining adherents in the post-Rational beekeeping movement of the 21st Century.

So this book has excellent coverage of beekeeping's history, proving that humans have been doing it for an awfully long time; yet it is a dated work of pre-internet scholarship, and so its limitations must be kept in mind.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great on detail, not an easy night's read., July 5, 2007

By 

Lorinda Titus "The Bee Lady" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting (Hardcover)

If you are scientifically-minded and love lots of little details, this is a great book for you. Eva Crane has well-documented her resources, and if you can get through all the details, you find great stories as to the origin and development of beekeeping in different cultures. However, this is not a storybook, or a book you might expect a child to read - it is stock full of info. I personally love this book, and think it is well-worth the high price. However, it is not a book for everyone.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The world history of beekeeping, May 12, 2007

By 

S. W. Barlow (South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting (Hardcover)

If you are at all interested in bees or you are a beekeeper this is the book for you!

Eva Crane has just about left no stone unturned in her research for this book and has covered all four corners of the Globe.

The evolution of beekeeping is fascinating and this book cover an increadable time line from early man right up to present time.

The illustrations are plentiful and very well presented throughout the book.

A must for any beekeepers library.