Book Review: Beekeepers' Bibles Times Two

Durham Garden Club members are busy bees preparing for the Durham Council of Garden Club's March 3, 2015 Joint Meeting. In preparation for the Durham Beekeeper Association's program and to enhance general knowledge of our pollinator friends, here are two (edited) Amazon reviews of widely consulted beekeeping reference books.

The Beekeeper's Bible:  Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses

Authors: Richard Jones, Sharon Sweeney-Lynch
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang; first U.S. edition (April 1, 2011)
SBN-10: 1584799188
SBN-13: 978-1584799184

The Beekeeper’s Bible is as much an ultimate guide to the practical essentials of beekeeping as it is a beautiful almanac to be read from cover to cover. Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one's own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products, and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Fully illustrated with how-to photography and unique etchings, any backyard enthusiast or gardener can confidently dive into beekeeping with this book in hand (or daydream about harvesting their own honey while relaxing in the comfort of an armchair).

The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture: An Encyclopedia Pertaining to the Scientific and Practical Culture of Honey Bees Hardcover

Authors: Amos Ives Root, Ann Harman, Dr. Hachiro Shimanuki, Kim Flottum
Hardcover: 911 pages
Publisher: A I Root Co; 41 edition (May 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 093602822X
ISBN-13: 978-0936028224

The 41st edition of The ABC & XYZ Of Bee Culture has over 900 pages and more than 1,000 photos. It was compiled to serve as an easy-to-use and comprehensive encyclopedia of most everything in the beekeeping world: from African Honey Bees, beeswax, comb honey, G. M. Doolittle, essential oils, Karl von Frisch, extracted honey, more than 50 of the most popular honey plants to laying workers, honey bee mites, nucleus colonies, Queen piping and Queen rearing, the A. I. Root Company history, smoking colonies, top Bar Hives, Varroa, to wintering to worker cells.

The 16-page Glossary is user-friendly and contains hundreds of entries to make learning the science and art of beekeeping easier and faster than you can imagine. No other book contains a more comprehensive listing of the people and events that make up the history of keeping bees. Hundreds of individuals are highlighted and their contributions to the beekeeping community. Most prominently mentioned is the A. I. Root Company with an in-depth look at the family and the extensive role it played in American and global beekeeping development and manufacturing advances. More than 50 authors were pulled in to assist with this book, each contributing the most up-to-date information in their respective fields.

The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture offers readers both the science of honey bees and  practical beekeeping instruction: how to lay out a small, medium or large honey house and choosing equipment, how to equalize colonies, assemble equipment, collect pollen, instrumental insemination, make nucs, rear queens, harvest honey, use smokers and how judge honey for show. A wealth of beekeeping how-to exists alongside the science of beekeeping that supports why beekeepers do things the way they do. Often called The Beekeepers Bible, The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture should be on every beekeeper shelf....for emergencies, for background, and for fun.