Best bee books & DVDs

[Freddywasadevil]

Just wondering what the best bee books and DVDs that are out there people have tried, I'm new and need all the info I can get, ted hooper was the first one I got but would like to pick up some more

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ted Hooper is acknowledged as the best, Practical beekeeping by Clive De Bruyn is excellent. A practical manual of beekeeping by David Cramp, I also enjoyed Keeping Bees by John Vivian. I haven't watched any instructional DVD's but 'The monk and the honeybee' is a great film to watch.

 

[alanf]

Lots of suggestions in this thread

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8587

A lot depends on what style of text book you are used to. Many are familiar with the text in Hooper, I find the long paragraphs heavy going and I'm more familiar with scanning bullet points such as in David Cramp's book. Haynes gets a lot of recommends from those who like the visual approach.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Here's another must read sticky post for a beginner

 

[hallshoney]

stick with ted hooper but have a look at ron brown

 

[tonybloke]

have a watch of Paul Metcalfs DVD 'an introduction to bee keeping'
it's very good

 

[the beehive lodge]

look on youtube that a good soure of good beekeeping and bad learn by their mistakes
type iwf.de in the search bar of youtube and check them out

 

[Nellie]

I don't like Ted Hooper's book much, there's lots of useful information in it if you can persevere with it but it's very dry to put it mildly.

I do quite like David Cramp's A practical Guide to Beekeeping. Not perfect by any means but very readable and contains a lot of useful information.

On here I probably shouldn't mention Roger Patterson's book, but I will, there are some points that I just flat disagree with but I've read worse books and if you're going to read a few it is worth a look.

 

[Magners Bee]

This is going to sound weird, but there is a Haynes Manual on beekeeping. We are one month into beekeeping and it is full of pictures which really helps.

But there is nothing like the real thing - beekeeper meetings, visiting apiaries of friends, going to the shows... that's where we are really learning.

Have fun!

 

[scuttlefish]

I don't like Ted Hooper's book much, there's lots of useful information in it if you can persevere with it but it's very dry to put it mildly.

I found Hooper a good second bee book - dry and difficult to follow as a complete beginner, but after something a bit simpler and with a little bit of experience it's my bee bible now.

 

[Ely]

have a watch of Paul Metcalfs DVD 'an introduction to bee keeping'
it's very good

I bought it, I really enjoyed it. Good to rewatch again and again. But I read a book before watching it as old Paul isn't too good at explaining why and for what reasons he is doing what he is doing on the DVD. He uses a lot of terms without explanation which you'd need at least some experience and knowledge to understand what he means.

Collins beekeeping bible is a very good book. It is quite a big book with all the ancient history of beekeeping. It isn't meant as a quick instruction guide though. It is more of a reference book

 

[Polyanwood]

I think David Wootton's book is good for beginners.

 

[ma1308]

I found the DVD's from Bee Works informative and a good watch

 

[Nellie]

Collins beekeeping bible is a very good book. It is quite a big book with all the ancient history of beekeeping. It isn't meant as a quick instruction guide though. It is more of a reference book

It's a good toilet book too And I mean that in a good way. Not great as a beekeeping manual perhaps but chock full of interesting stuff about bees and beekeeping.

 

[newbe]

Im new too and have got 2 books which I have found informative and useful. They are keeping bees a complete practical guide Paul Peacock which is easy to read and has good photos and A practical Manual of Beekeeping by David Cramp which is more in depth. Both books I got through Amazon. I have also looked up information on google.

There is so much information out there and 1 person / book may recommend something and someonelse will recommend something completely different.

Since joining the forum I have been advised to read Hooper book so that will be next on my read list

 

[abi-e]

Payne's bee manual for me too - I find the pictures really useful and the advice is sound. I also have 'bees at the bottom of the garden'

 

[hallshoney]

swarming by snelgrove is a good one ideal for a winters read

 

[hiveabee]

This is going to sound weird, but there is a Haynes Manual on beekeeping. We are one month into beekeeping and it is full of pictures which really helps.

But there is nothing like the real thing - beekeeper meetings, visiting apiaries of friends, going to the shows... that's where we are really learning.

Have fun!

Its a very easy to follow book. But I have the issue with the in-correct Queen marking colour chart. Beekeeping for dummies is ok. But practical knowledge from an experienced keeper is much better.

 

[enrico]

I loved 'bees at the bottom of the garden' it is a really easy read but informative too. Perfect for beginners