The Hive : The Story of the Honeybee and Us - Softcover

Wilson, Bee

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0719565987 ISBN 13: 9780719565984

Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd, 2005

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

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.
The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their “society” over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Muhammed Ali.
The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee’s impact on food and human ritual.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.

About the Author:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0719565987
• ISBN 13: 9780719565984
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320