Honeybees are dying. In America, one in three hives was left lifeless at the beginning of 2008. In France, the death rate might be 60 percent. In Britain, a government minister has warned that honey bees could be extinct within a decade. A third of all that we eat, and much of what we wear, relies on pollination by honeybees. So if - or when - the world loses its black-and-yellow workers, the consequences will be dire. What is behind this catastrophe? Viruses, parasites, pesticides and climate change have all been blamed. As has modern mono culture agribusiness. In this timely book, two keen amateur apiarists investigate all the claims and counterclaims with the help of scientist and beekeepers in Europe, America and beyond. They ask the question that will soon be on everyone's lips: is there any possible way of saving the honeybees - and, with them, the world as we know it?
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surprisingly moving (Metro )
a highly enjoyable, polished, well-researched homage to the honeybee (Observer )
The success of A World Without Bees lies in its explanation of the challenges faced by the honeybee population and the intensiveness of commercial beekeeping (Daily Telegraph ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
a highly enjoyable, polished, well-researched homage to the honeybee (Observer )
The success of A World Without Bees lies in its explanation of the challenges faced by the honeybee population and the intensiveness of commercial beekeeping (Daily Telegraph ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.' Albert Einstein
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 64 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read this wonderful book in one very long sitting; I really could not stop once I started. Having grown up surrounded, in my immediate family, by the 1950's acute nature-awareness of the early Soil Association days of Bob Waller and Harold Horne et al, it was like deja vu to me.
The authors have been very disciplined in producing a really worthwhile book; it is almost perfectly objective, and therefore above cheap criticism. They have worked immensely hard to source a huge amount of sound material, and they have taken the trouble to understand it thoroughly before using it in their book. And the mystery at issue is no less than how terrifyingly detached from truth we are becoming, and how little we now understand our own misery and poverty of life in the midst of all our illusion of ease; how deprived of reality we have already become.
Read it! In the morning, the evening, on the train, in the bath, but read it. It is more real than most other stuff you will find on printed paper or glowing on a monitor any day of the year.
The authors have been very disciplined in producing a really worthwhile book; it is almost perfectly objective, and therefore above cheap criticism. They have worked immensely hard to source a huge amount of sound material, and they have taken the trouble to understand it thoroughly before using it in their book. And the mystery at issue is no less than how terrifyingly detached from truth we are becoming, and how little we now understand our own misery and poverty of life in the midst of all our illusion of ease; how deprived of reality we have already become.
Read it! In the morning, the evening, on the train, in the bath, but read it. It is more real than most other stuff you will find on printed paper or glowing on a monitor any day of the year.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If climate change doesn't get you, the disappearance of the honeybee will - this is the rather gloomy message of Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum's well researched and engagingly written new book on Colony Collapse Disorder - a honeybee `plague' which has already killed millions of bees worldwide. Some 90 commercial crops owe their continued existence to the pollination services provided free of charge by the honeybee so its fair to say that A World Without Bees is an important book. For it to succeed in its mission it has to put the fear of God into us without losing us to jargon. It does so admirably, taking us through the rather complicated but interesting world of honeybee health, politics and economics and delivering us to a conclusion which lays the blame firmly on our own shoulders. Time to start talking about bee rights? Could be.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alison Benjamin is a journalist who, together with her partner Brian McCallum, is also (like me) an amateur beekeeper. (I see that she has also written an introductory book on beekeeping.) Over the last year or two, fueled by the crisis that is hitting honey bee populations, particularly in the USA but also in the UK and Europe, public interest in honey bees has soared. This book feeds off that interest, and does so very well. It is written in a popular journalistic style that can be appreciated by anyone who is interested in the subject, which should be all of us. No background knowledge of bees or beekeeping is required. The authors themselves are neither scientists nor professional beekeepers, but have done their homework thoroughly, consulting a wide variety of professionals. They deal with a number of hazards facing today's bees, and a number of suggestions for alleviating (I doubt whether they would go so far as to say solving) the problem. For example, the role of other pollenating insects is explored briefly. There are no facile statements of the problem, and no proposed silver bullet; just a thorough exploration of the issues from a variety of angles. The first edition of this book came out in 2008, just two years after Colony Collapse Disorder was first identified in the USA, and it has been updated for 2009, so is very up-to-date as I write this review. Anyone interested in green issues, beekeeper or not, will learn a lot from it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wake up Call
Although not quite through reading all the book it has delivered a serious wake up message to all who choose to read it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. M. C. Desmond
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't believe the hype
This book hypes up the dangers to bees inappropriately. It has lead to people all over the UK thinking bees are in danger here, when they aren't. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Rufus
5.0 out of 5 stars
An angry buzzing noise to warn...
In 2008 Society Guardian editor Alison Benjamin and her Geography teacher partner Brian McCallum, who keep bees as a hobby, wrote the book A World Without Bees. Read more
Published 14 months ago by blossom
2.0 out of 5 stars
Life without bees could have been better
I expected this book to be informative, which it was. However, it was so repetitive that I couldn't wait to finish it. Read more
Published 21 months ago by MumH
4.0 out of 5 stars
Imagine a summer without the hum of the honeybee...
`A World Without Bees' is a fascinating and timely book exploring the possible reasons behind the massive decline of the western honeybee over recent years. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2011 by Miss E. Potten
4.0 out of 5 stars
Important, informative and unsettling
`A World Without Bees` takes an in-depth look into why honeybees all over the world are disappearing and what that might mean for us. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2010 by E. Cooper
3.0 out of 5 stars
Research good; writing style...mmm...
This reads more like a thesis than a book which seems (when it was first published especially) to want to bring the plight of bees to the general knowledge of the public. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2010 by M. Oxby
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but maybe a little over the top
I found this a fascinating book that teaches you a lot about bees. It is amazing how important these little animals are. Read more
Published on 14 May 2010 by A. P. J. Jansen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read
After reading some negative reviews I wasn't too sure if it was worth getting but I'm glad I did. While I can not say it's a fantastic book or one of my top bee books, I can... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2010 by Severn
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating read, even if you've seen the documentary
As a novice but recently trained beekeeper, I bought this after seeing the documentary on the same topic, rather expecting not to learn anything new but I was pleasantly surprised... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by RosP
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