Beautiful color pictures.  Detailed useful advice for the new beekeeper.
353233
This book is VERY useful for anyone starting out in bees.  Especially if you live in a northern climate.  But it's also a good book about beekeeping in general even for the experienced beekeeper.  There is a lot of content here and it's organized in the form of a year of beekeeping.  It is communicated clearly and yet simply.
1836760
My daughter, who is 4, loves bumble bees.  She was attracted to the cover of this book so we first took it out of our library to see.  It is written both as a basic story, and then with some more scientific facts as well.  When you read it aloud you can choose to read the scientific tidbits along with the bumble bee, life-cycle story, or you can skip them until next time.  We both enjoyed learning about the Queen Bee and her life, especially what happens in wintertime.  The pictures are detailed and beautiful.  You actually get to see the bumble's long, sticky tongue.  A great book for kids interested in bees and nature and their parents too!
3489751
This book contains detailed information, easily referenced with wonderful photographs.  The back of the book is excellent for  novices because everything you need to know is there in a nutshell-visual and text glossaries and indexes as well as charts, references and other resources.  There are even garden plans of pollinator gardens for varying soil and light conditions.
2117874
easy to read interesting tips answers a lot of questions you may have .one of the better books on beekeeping ive read
3240577
Very well written, scientifically based but in a journalistic readable style. I'm a beekeeper and even though the book is about bumblebees, I learned a lot that will help me be a better gardener and beekeeper.
238613
I started getting into raising and growing houseplants several months ago as a way to relieve stress and refocus my energy. As I got into it, I discovered a natural interest. So I decided to invest a little money in a useful guide to take me through the "how-to's". First off, this book is very colorful full of interesting and lively photos of many different species of houseplants. Just like with a cookbook, I find myself having more interest when there are nice photos illustrating what is being talked about.

Next, this guide is pretty detailed as it covers all the basic steps of indoor growing from choosing the right plant for your room, to watering, light, humidity, repotting, grooming, diseases, etc. Towards the back of the book, there is an 'Encylopedia of houseplants' listing all the various plant species that can be grown indoors. Each plant listing has five short descriptions which include 'Description and uses', 'Care', 'Propagation', 'Pests', and 'Recommendations'. Useful book for the indoor plant growing enthusiast.
1048795
Growing up, our next door neighbors were beekeepers. They would bring over honey once a year or so and I was always very interested in their hobby. Now that I have a place of my own, I wondered how easy it would be to get started in the beekeeping game. This book goes over all the basics of beekeeping and it explains all of the benefits, and it's not just the honey. In his book, Haddon goes over the role the bees have in the environment around us and helps you as a beekeeper get started. If you are interested, I would give this book a read.
46296
Excellent study for new-bees and veterans alike, written in common English and easy to understand.  Each section is well illustrated with color photos.  I studied this book when I checked out a copy from the NEOBA Club library last year, and found myself referring back to it on my hive construction projects.  I just had to have my own copy to refer to so I could write in the margins and doodle my thoughts inside.  One of these days this book will become a treasured heirloom.  Get one of your own.
4675331
There's a lot of talk in our family about getting a beehive going. From the health benefits of honey, to the money-savings of producing our own, to the feeling that we'd be doing our part to preserve the bee population that's so crucial to agriculture - beekeeping has a lot of appeal. But also a lot of mystery. This is a great book that helped me sort out fact/fiction about beekeeping - I was also surprised with how much info it had about bees themselves - their colony, the queen. Great read and a perfect tutorial for getting started.
3774295
I have been toying with the idea of doing a little hobbyest bee keeping and I have developed something of a library of references.  Nearly everyone book I have has a building plans section, but none can hold a candle to this book.  The Illustrations are nothing short of amazing.  I wish the "Look Inside" feature showed at least one exampled of the way the plans are illustrated. They are crisp and concise.  The dimensions are clear and the exploded views of the hives make assembly obvious.  I just checked and the illustrations are from Felix Freudzon and he deserves his name on the cover as well for his contributions.  I read a lot of woodworking magazines and books and this book has some of the finest build plan illustrations I've seen.

But I don't want to belittle the author. You can tell this is a labor of love. The writing reads easily and clearly. I was drawn into it and basically read it in one sitting. There was some skimming on the plan materials but even the basic carpentry was worth reading. Also, I have never seen any Dummies author use the tips and reminder icons as much as this author. I really think he did a great job of focusing his topic and laying out a stunningly elegant book.

Pros
+ Amazing Plan build illustrations
+ Concise focus on building hives
+ Great Diversity of hive plans
+ Flexible hive plans (i.e. gives 8 and 10 frame measurements)
+ Bonus sections on additional related projects
+ Easy and educational read

Cons
- For what this is, I really don't see any cons. I want to be clear that this is not a complete bee keeping guide. Its focus is on constructing hives and it excels at that, but you will need to have another resource for beekeeping.
- If I was pressed to find something that I was disappointed in, it would be that he only has one paragraph on queen excluders and he does not show it on his illustrations.  But truly, that is about the only fault I could find.

Summary
I see this book as being a long time reference for any beekeeper.  The plans are absolutely over the top good, and doable (Although many require more than a beginners woodworking ability, especially the designs with lots of dadoes, rabbits and finger joinery.)  But all in all, this should be on the bookshelf of every beekeeper who makes their own hives.
670302
This is a fantastic recourse book for anyone wanting to know more about the bees in America.  I loved how it was laid out and the amount of detail worked in with stories about specific bees.
4446741
In this book the author talks not just about the history of bees in North America (including the release of AHB in South America) but also her own background as a beekeeper.  She gives a very basic knowledge of bee history and endearing personal tales of beekeeping.  A very inspirational book for beginner beekeepers and an easy gift for them too! If this book sparks your interest in the biology of honeybees then I suggest going on to read The Buzz About Bees: The biology of a superorganism.  That too is a fascinating book worth the time to read.
1387696
An absolute must for new beeks and those simply interested in one of nature's most wonderful creatures. The book covers everything from the history of domesticated bees to proper beekeeping techniques to harvesting honey and other products. The cover and full color illustrations are fantastic! This was the best gift I received all Christmas.
4147711
Excellent book for the bee keeper who wants everything in one book. Great service! The book is heavy when reading but is a great reference!
1549482
It's almost impossible to keep from saying things like "You'll Bee amazed...", but I'll try.

This is a basic book for beginning beekeepers.

You find out the queen's job, and how to recognize the queen bee. The queen's mating habits and lifespan. You get some basic information about drones and worker bees.

Then the author gives you some history of beekeeping. You read about the pioneers in beekeeping.

There is a section about the life of a bee, and how the different types of bees work together. How to choose a location for your hive is covered in some depth, as well as the laws involved.

You'll need equipment, and this is covered as well. You get a pretty comprehensive section on managing you new bee colony.

And now the payoff, harvesting you honey.

There is a good section on bee diseases, infections, and pests. You'll also find out a little about pesticides and their effects.

This is not an exhaustive book on Beekeeping like some textbooks. But, if you have a friend who is thinking of beekeeping as a hobby, or to earn a little extra money...this is the book. I can see why it's so popular.

Very recommended.
2525943
Wonderful book. Interesting and applicable. I've got so many tabs sticking out of it they're almost worthless!

The only thing I'd wish for is that they'd have larger section devoted to pollinator-friendly plants at the back for each region. Two full pages for each region doesn't seem THAT much to ask...

Otherwise it's very user-friendly. I've been enjoying taking it out to identify the bees that visit my garden and look forward to making more nest-friendly places on my little slice of land.
126116
Great book, well written and was personally very useful to me in my decision to go with top bar type designs for my non-production honey bee hives.  These seem to keep the bees happier and are easier to manage for a novice keeper.