Robbing The Bees
A Biography Of Honey
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"In that glistening dollop, I could taste the sun and the water, the metallic minerals of the soil, the tang of the goldenrod and the wildflowers blooming around the meadow"
Essential to the food, drink, religion, economics , medicine and arts of every civilisation since the Egyptians, honey - and the bees that make it - have been a vital part of the human record for millennia, appearing on cave paintings, wax tablets and papyrus scrolls. From the temples of the Nile to the hives behind the author's house, men and women have had a long, rapturous love affair with the beehive.
ROBBING THE BEES is a biography, history, celebration and love letter to bees and their magical produce. Holley Bishop follows beekeeper Donald Smiley on his daily tasks then explores the lively science, culture and lore that surround each step of the process and each stage of lives of the bees and their honey. Throughout are the author's lyrical reflections on her own beekeeping experiences, the business and gastronomical world of honey, the myriad varieties of honey (as distinct as the provenance of wine), as well as recipes, illustrations and historical quotes. Combining passionate research, rich detail, and fascinating anecdote, ROBBING THE BEES is a sumptuous look at the oldest, most delectable food in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When former New York literary agent Bishop bought a Connecticut farmstead, she began keeping bees as a way of savoring her newfound reverence for nature in the edible form of fresh honey, a passion that now yields this engaging study of the history, science and art of beekeeping. She details the biology of the "always gracious, economical and neat" insects; explores the complex, pheromone-besotted hive society that yokes the proverbially busy insects to the tasks of comb building, nectar gathering and larvae nourishing; and eulogizes their stubborn, self-immolating defense of their honey against human pillagers. And she chronicles humanity's millennia-long expropriation of the bee's gifts of honey, beeswax, pollen and venom to provide food and drink (a chapter of honey-themed recipes is included), nutritional supplements, arthritis remedies and even weapons of war. Tying it all together is a profile of salt-of-the-earth commercial beekeeper Donald Smiley, harvester of specialty honey gathered from tupelo tree blossoms in the drowsy hum of the Florida panhandle, and emblem of the fruitful alliance of two legs with six. Bishop's impulse to visit every flower of bee lore sometimes weighs the book down with quotes from bee enthusiasts of the past, but her combination of engrossing natural history and down-home reportage make this a fitting homage to one of nature's most admirable creatures. Photos.
