Which beekeeping book would you recommend?

[sail819]

Ted Hooper !!!

Like the pictures in the Haynes book as well

 

[pargyle]

Haynes manual.

And after you have done your intro course, maybe then buy Hooper. Or wait another few months ...

Totally agree .. Hooper is great as a reference book when you have got a hive and wonder what the hell is going off but as an introductory read it's heavy going and too much detail.

Bees at the Bottom of the Garden is a good read and I also use David Cramp who sometimes has something different to offer to Hooper.

Other than that ... read everything ...there are some really interesting websites around .. and a couple of other forums (one which is more concerned with alternative styles of beekeepimg and Top Bar Hives) - they all have something to offer and will make you think about your beekeeping.

This forum.... by far and away the one I spend most time on ... lots of diversity, humour, conflict and most of the time good advice and information. Start at the beginnig and work your way through ... there's a winter of reading here alone !

 

[pargyle]

With a bit of googling you can download the 1998 edition off the web. My question to those of you who probably have the latest edition: it is much, much better than the 1998 edition?

Small section on Varroa as far as I can tell ... and even that's out of date by current thinking but pehaps there's an even later version than the two I have ? Can't remember the publication dates. Two you say ? Given a copy and then bought another one by accident !

 

[BILL.HEARD]

For a start try Hooper and Manley, and for detail Roots 'ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture' and Wedmore's 'A Manual of Bee-Keeping'.
Read up-to-date periodicals and research papers and gradually over a period you will work out a system that suits you and your local environment. Try not to get into a rut and introduce new ideas and management techniques when you think they may work for you.

 

[parkranger]

One week to go before I start an 'Introduction to beekeeping' course. I have read a couple of books already so they should make sense when I get some hands-on practice.

But I was wondering, if you were to recommend one book for beginners what book would it be?

The same one that the bees read!

 

[aidskywalker]

beekeeping for dummies is pretty good and the haynes manual

 

[alanf]

But I was wondering, if you were to recommend one book for beginners what book would it be?

First, make sure you've at least had a look at most of the free stuff. The catalogues of the major suppliers such as Th0nes and Maism0re for an illustrated guide to the equipment terminology. Then maybe the leaflets from the NBU and WBKA. That covers the current thinking on how to cope with disease plus guides to swarming and other basic procedures that are usually clearer than in any of the books. If you want alternative ways of doing stuff, there are thousands of examples online.

If you then want a book as well, the one you will refer to most will reflect what sort of learning style suits you best. Try to borrow or browse a few. If you're doing a course some examples might be circulated.

There's no single book that will suit everyone, they vary in style and none are kept as up to date as the free sources above. The best selling prose based book, and under a tenner online, Hooper is often recommended by those who have used it for 20 or more years. It has always been text heavy with densely set pages, I think it's hard going for those used to more structure in manuals. Updates have made it disjointed and the index is patchy and out of date. Also under a tenner David Cramp's book is clearer for those used to a bullet point style and a more structured approach. Downside is that alternatives presented for an international audience means topics get alternatives rather than a "do this" approach. For those pictorially inclined, although more expensive, the Haynes manual has far more illustrations than any of the others. Ideal if the visual approach works for you. There are plenty of others; all will have weak and strong points, but those are probably the best selling in the UK for each of three contrasting approaches.

 

[Teebeeaitch]

If its reading you want you dont really have to buy a book. Just go to Michael Bush's website, read all of his articles and you will cut through a lot of the crap as his approach is very much in keeping with the KISS principle.

 

[pargyle]

If its reading you want you dont really have to buy a book. Just go to Michael Bush's website, read all of his articles and you will cut through a lot of the crap as his approach is very much in keeping with the KISS principle.

And it's free ... lots of good info on there if you are thinking of alternative methods of beekeeping ... Flak jacket on ... there are also lots of other (minor but interesting) websites ... some good, some awful, but the more you read the more discerning you will become about bees and beekeeping in general.

 

[For want of a better word]

Cramp does it for me.... but then Cooper is pretty good... and Chandlers Barefoot Beekeeping has some interesting stuff....

... but who need a book when all the answers can be found on the Beekeeping Forum !

 

[rachann]

Thank you for all the replies. It looks like a choice between Haynes and Hooper... or it will be Haynes(words fail see sketch) first and then Hooper.

beekeeping for dummies is pretty good and the haynes manual

Beekeeping for dummies was the first one I read, easy reading and I could get it for the Kindle.

 

[hallshoney]

ted hooper for me ron brown is good snelgrove is a good one for a winter read

 

[Tom Bick]

Beekeeping by the National Trust

A wonderful little book

 

[Norton Caff]

No one has suggested Practical Beekeeping by Clive de Bruyn but I liked Manley's anecdotal type of presentation.

 

[n1arbs]

Ivor Davis's book BBKA Guide to Beekeeping is the best around, is up to date and has a modern layout.