Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of The Complete Bee Handbook: History, Recipes, Beekeeping Basics, and More by Dr. Dewey M. Caron from Callisto Media via Net Galley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

You don't have to be a beekeeper or prospective beekeeper (I'm not) to enjoy this book. I love bees. If you don't already, you can learn to love them too. Without them, we couldn't survive. So I look for every opportunity to educate myself on how to help bees survive for their sake and ours. This was a really great resource for doing just that. I not only learned a lot just about bees in general but also many easy ways that I can help bees without having hives. If you are crafty, there were even recipes for how to use bee products to make things like candles. I liked that everything was very clearly written and explained so even a bee novice could understand. If you want to learn more about bees and/or how you can help them, this is an excellent starting point.

For the vegetarians and vegans who wrestle with the ethics of honey and beekeeping, I think you will find this book makes a case for why we should support local beekeepers. Without their help, bees would be even worse off than they already are.

Fun and interesting research done for beekeeping! Eye opening to say the least about this bee filled book with some exciting tidbits on having your own hive. History research, and various items made from bees also color the pages.

What did I like? Wealth of information and impressive. I’m interested in bee’s to pollinate my garden, and there was some information on that. Which types of flowers attract bee’s versus seasons, and how pollination works. Even a chapter on the decline of bee populations and factors involved.

Would I buy or recommend? This is an overall book about bee’s and a wealth of information. Unfortunately for me it had a lot of info I did not need but still interesting background. I need a book more suited for pollination, and attraction of bee’s to my garden. Not a history or ingredients of the hive. So it gets a recommendation for people curious about bee’s and overall information. I would not buy a copy for myself based on my need for more detailed info about gardens and pollination.

I received a copy to read and offer an opinion.

Our very survival as a species depends on the humble bee. Caron explores the natural history of bees and our fascination with them and the dangers that threaten them. With honey and bee centered foods and crafts as well as information on how to attract the pollinators to our gardens and ideas about how we can save them, Caron provides bee enthusiasts with an interesting and informative guide

The Complete Bee Handbook is a quirky (but useful) collection of history, recipes, how-to tutorials, advice, and guidance on the apiarist's art by Dr. Dewey M Caron. Due out 14th July 2020 from Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 180 pages (for the print copy) and available in paperback and ebook formats (ebook is available now). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is such a fun and well written book. The author's enthusiasm really shines through in the text (he's an entomologist and beekeeper himself, apparently). I liked the book's logical and easy-to-follow layout. An introduction with a good, science-based history of bee history, the ecological niche bees fill as pollinators and food sources is followed by chapters covering beekeeping (past and present), and recipes for enjoying and using honey and beeswax.

The recipes are varied and useful and encompass everything from baklava and cookies to lip balm and old fashioned wood polish. Recipe ingredients are listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are in American standard only. Tips and alternatives for the recipes are contained in highlighted text boxes. The book includes a short author bio and a metric conversion chart, but lacks any index or a general ingredients list. The bibliography and resource lists will provide lots of possibilities for further learning and reading.

This is a useful and well written book. It's graphically appealing and typeset in a clear, easy to read font, but the photography is not abundant. This would not be my *first* choice for a beekeeping book to learn from, but it would make an excellent choice to add to the beekeeper's (or those interested in becoming apiarists) libraries.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.