Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of nature: social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent or fantastical. In this gem of a book, award-winning writer Bee Wilson explores the magical world of the honeybee. From the hive to honey, from beekeepers to honeymooners, via Aristotle, Shakespeare, Napoleon and Sherlock Holmes, here is a book that delights and surprises at every turn. And there is even a recipe or two.
Reviews
'Richly informative and beautifully written' -- The Times
'Entertaining and thoroughly worthwhile' -- Sunday Times
'Can hardly be bettered' -- Guardian
'Fascinating, careful, witty and intelligent! Almost any paragraph chosen at random is entertaining' -- Prue Leith, New Statesman
'Erudite, informative, accurate and a delight to read.' -- Times Literary Supplement
'There are delights and surprises on virtually every page of this gem of a book' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Wilson's sprightly hymn to the honeybee conveys the marvel, complexity and ultimate unknowability that has made the beehive such a fascination' -- Independent
'A brilliant examination of a natural phenomenon we all take for granted' -- Sunday Express
Author Biography
Bee Wilson is a food writer and historian. For five years she was the food critic of the New Statesman and now writes a weekly food column for the Sunday Telegraph. In 2002 she was named Radio 4 food writer of the year. She is currently a research fellow in the History of Ideas at St John's College, Cambridge. She is married, with two children.
