Books for beginners

[SteveG]

Morning, Whats the best book for beginner? thanks

 

[enrico]

An easy night time read is 'Bees at the bottom of the garden' but there are plenty more educational books that others will suggest

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Haynes beekeeping manual

 

[Superlativesoul]

I was presented with a book from the local library, they were selling off old stock.
The book is called Beekeeping for Dummies, Surprisingly enough a very good informative read .The authors are British so the info is relatable to the UK .Unlike most of the Dummies books which are more geared for American market
ISBN 978-1-119-97250-1.
Authorsavid Wiscombe
Howland Blackiston .
Another I have is by Ted Hooper
Guide to Bees and Honey
ISBN1-899296-04-2
John.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Sorry David

 

[Murox]

Morning, Whats the best book for beginner? thanks

As previously-------Haynes Beekeeping Manual.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Morning, Whats the best book for beginner? thanks

Hooper. Alta Pete as my old school motto said.

 

[Phill16359]

Bees at the bottom of the garden and Haynes manual great for beginners

 

[GaryH]

Haynes beekeeping manual
I have the Haynes manual too. Until we get the bees themselves to write one this is the best.

 

[DocMartin]

Just into our second year.We recommend Haynes Manual it is well illustrated and helped us in our first year and also towards our Basic Hive Assessment. Don’t forget to join a local association as well

 

[Simon a beekeeper]

I'm only in my second year but agree that the Haynes manual is a great go to book.

 

[Moobee]

Morning, Whats the best book for beginner? thanks

Haynes Beekeeping Manual was my go to when I started and I still dip in for a quick check on things.

 

[Macbear]

I started with "Beekeeping for Dummies" and was recommended Haynes. Both are very good, and Haynes is in colour. I got mine second hand. The trouble with a book is that it gives the feeling that what it says is the ultimate answer. It cannot be - Beekeepingforum shows that it is clear that there are plenty of tried and tested ways with bees. I've also supplemented my reading with joining a local Association. They brand themselves as "the friendly beekeepers" - and so they are.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Hooper

About 15 years ago I asked for a good beginner beekeeping book and was handed Ted Hooper's Bees & Honey. Written elegantly, it was in its time the best, and still is a very good book, but it lacked photographs, was a dense read and expected the reader to follow complex operations, often beyond beginner level.

Later editions were edited by others to include varroa and so on, but the writing was leaden and lacked Hooper's clarity & elegance.

The Haynes is the best of its sort today because it is broadly accessible by having a good balance between the visual and the written word. For example, it will suit beginners who may not have English as a first langauge, or may not have the temperament or inclination (internet attention span) to plough through Hooper.

Haynes will be good for a good few years to embed the basics; add Kirk & Howe's Plants for Bees and the very good BBKA Healthy Hive Guide.

After that I would move to Hooper, Donald Sim's 60 Years with Bees and ROB Manley's Honey Farming. These three will accelerate practical beekeeping skill and thinking and show that success with bees (at all levels) is a result of learning to read a colony and to work with simplicity.

 

[mychale]

I started with Hooper and went through a number of other texts (dummies, etc) but the simplicity of the Waring’s Haynes manual is unbeatable.

 

[rolande]

After that I would move to Hooper, Donald Sim's 60 Years with Bees and ROB Manley's Honey Farming. These three will accelerate practical beekeeping skill and thinking and show that success with bees (at all levels) is a result of learning to read a colony and to work with simplicity.

Sims' book seems to be underrated going by the number of times it gets a mention, a pity really as it's a very good book.

 

[Pembroke]

I was presented with a book from the local library, they were selling off old stock.
The book is called Beekeeping for Dummies, Surprisingly enough a very good informative read .The authors are British so the info is relatable to the UK .Unlike most of the Dummies books which are more geared for American market
ISBN 978-1-119-97250-1.
Authorsavid Wiscombe
Howland Blackiston .
Another I have is by Ted Hooper
Guide to Bees and Honey
ISBN1-899296-04-2
John.

Make sure you get the UK edition though, as the American version has a chapter about protecting your hives from Racoons.

Another book to add to the list would be Green Guides to Keeping Bees by Pam Gregory and Claire Waring.

 

[Garry R]

In 1977 when I started, Bernard Mobus our advisor in Craibstone in Aberdeen recommended Principles of Practical Beekeeping by Robert Couston also an advisor in Scotland. It was old fashioned but good basic advice, but without the varroa subject which was yet to make its appearance to blight us. It did me well then and still have a nostalgic look through. Haynes seems to be the go to choice now - Hooper has a lot more detail which the beginner may find a bit tricky until they have a bit of hands on experience.

 

[Ian123]

This one is rather good
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Beekeeping-Clive-Bruyn/dp/1861260490

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This one is rather good
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Beekeeping-Clive-Bruyn/dp/1861260490

Hooper and de Bruyn always within reaching distance near the desk, then authors like JG Digges (still considered the definitive beekeeper's bible after numerous reprints from it's first publication in 1904 to the centenary edition in 2004) and of course Manley and Snelgrove.
Steering well clear of Wedmore and most things endorsed by the BBKA