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innae's review against another edition
3.0
While I disagree with the author's characterization of mead as an inferior drink that should not even be tried (I love mead,and even brew it myself) -- I did enjoy the history of the honey bee. This is NOT a tale of the bee-keeper, although the last chapter does touch on that, the majority of the book is about how the bee and the hive has affected the human race. How we think and what we see in the hive has changed, but the fact that honey is a wonderful and amazing substance has not changed.
Overall, an enjoyable look at history through the eye of the hive.
Overall, an enjoyable look at history through the eye of the hive.
onecrab's review against another edition
1.0
"Bee" Wilson is not a beekeeper. She admits to being afraid of bees. (perhaps a manifest fear of herself?) I was rolling my eyes by the end of chapter one when Ms. Wilson explains her qualification to publish a book on bees via her given name, Beatrice. She's always been Bee, not Bea, and her parents didn't call her Wasp! This kind of ignorance is exactly what we beekeepers are fighting against all the time. Wasps are not bees. If Ms. Wilson doesn't know that, maybe this isn't a good topic for her.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
onecrab's review
1.0
"Bee" Wilson is not a beekeeper. She admits to being afraid of bees. (perhaps a manifest fear of herself?) I was rolling my eyes by the end of chapter one when Ms. Wilson explains her qualification to publish a book on bees via her given name, Beatrice. She's always been Bee, not Bea, and her parents didn't call her Wasp! This kind of ignorance is exactly what we beekeepers are fighting against all the time. Wasps are not bees. If Ms. Wilson doesn't know that, maybe this isn't a good topic for her.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
Her writing style may do more good in the bodice ripper section of the library, and the book is in desperate need of an editor. (It's "honey bee", not "honeybee")
Anyone looking for an overly romantic version of honey bees and beekeeping - this is the book for you! For folks interested in real beekeeping and more accurate accounts of beekeeping, keep looking. They are out there.
jsjammersmith's review
5.0
It's easy to write sentences like "This book is amazing" or "this book really kept my interest" but it feels far more daring to write a sentence, "there wasn't a paragraph in this book that didn't keep my attention." I should also add that every paragraph in this book was not only packed with information, but also managed to be informative and entertaining.
The Hive is a cultural history focusing on the way that honeybees and human beings have interacted, focusing specifically on how human beings observed bees and imprinted their own ideas, weaknesses, philosophy, and desires on these insects sometimes to the detriment of the bees themselves. Wilson observes how bees infected politics, sex, work and labor, ideas about life and death, food, and finally the way human beings viewed themselves.
Wilson's book is one that I cannot recommend enough, because even if the reader is not a fan of bees, or perhaps afraid of them, this compels the reader to observe that almost every facet of society has at some point been influenced by honeybees and honey. Man and bee are observed together in a kind of mutual cultural evolution and the incredible thing is the book never suffers from a pedantic narrative. Each new page brought a new revelation about human beings and bees.
Arthropods as a group tend to suffer in relation to mankind because they are so dramatically different than us in terms of biology, but reading this book it's clear that honeybees are the exception to this hatred. Human beings have, and continue to rely on bees finding something in their existence that enhances or reflects their own.
If the reader would like to read my full review, they can follow the link to my site White Tower Musings:
https://jsjammersmith.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/hive-of-endless-inspiration-and-oh-s-theres-a-bee-in-my-coke-bee-wilsons-the-hive/
The Hive is a cultural history focusing on the way that honeybees and human beings have interacted, focusing specifically on how human beings observed bees and imprinted their own ideas, weaknesses, philosophy, and desires on these insects sometimes to the detriment of the bees themselves. Wilson observes how bees infected politics, sex, work and labor, ideas about life and death, food, and finally the way human beings viewed themselves.
Wilson's book is one that I cannot recommend enough, because even if the reader is not a fan of bees, or perhaps afraid of them, this compels the reader to observe that almost every facet of society has at some point been influenced by honeybees and honey. Man and bee are observed together in a kind of mutual cultural evolution and the incredible thing is the book never suffers from a pedantic narrative. Each new page brought a new revelation about human beings and bees.
Arthropods as a group tend to suffer in relation to mankind because they are so dramatically different than us in terms of biology, but reading this book it's clear that honeybees are the exception to this hatred. Human beings have, and continue to rely on bees finding something in their existence that enhances or reflects their own.
If the reader would like to read my full review, they can follow the link to my site White Tower Musings:
https://jsjammersmith.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/hive-of-endless-inspiration-and-oh-s-theres-a-bee-in-my-coke-bee-wilsons-the-hive/
noahwalker's review
4.0
Insightful and witty, The Hive departs from the well worn subject of apiculture to speak about the apiarists themselves, and is about human psychology as much as it is about bees.
As I read this book, my mind kept creeping back to the thought of the box of honeycomb sitting in my cupboard. The allure of honey is powerful indeed.
As I read this book, my mind kept creeping back to the thought of the box of honeycomb sitting in my cupboard. The allure of honey is powerful indeed.
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