Status
Publication
Description
The been is the most studied creature on the planet after man, and down the ages this insect and its honey have been harnessed by doctors, philosophers, scientists, politicians, artists, writers and architects as both metaphor and material. In her buzzing narrative, Hattie Ellis tells how all these people have found inspiration in the honey bee. We also discover some of the mysterious ways of bees - how they can make up to 24,000 journeys to produce a pound of honey, with each bee producing one teaspoonful in a lifetime; we see how, charmingly, they communicate by dances; and we look under the lid of the hive to find as many as 100,000 bees living and working in total discipline. But we witness their dark side, too - such as the savage, untamed energy of the swarms of killer African bees that are sweeping through America. We also explore some of the many unsolved questions surrounding the honey bee, some of them at the very cutting edge of contemporary medical research. Why did European honey bees stay in their hives as Chernobyl spread its toxic dust? And does honey, itself immortal, aid longevity? The bee existed long before man; and without bees, we would soon start to die. Hatt… (more)
User reviews
"We have chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which
sweetness and light."
Well said Jonathan.
She starts out well enough, tracing first the evolutionary history of the honeybee, and then its relationship to humans. I was surprised to learn that in those same caves with the prehistoric paintings of bison and horses, are prehistoric paintings of honeybees and the collection of wild honey. She goes on to describe the most recent speculations as to how honeybees moved from the wild to become part of the domestic landscape, the use of honey in ancient cuisines and then traces the historical arc of beekeeping from ancient times to modern day, including the introduction of the honeybee to North America by European colonists.
My problem with this wealth of information is Ms. Ellis’ Eurocentric focus. She might better have subtitled her book “The Mysterious History of the Honeybee in Europe, North America and New Zealand”, New Zealand having once been a British colony (Ms. Ellis is British). Other than a brief mention of Brazil in connection with killer bees and the Himalayas to illustrate her point that honeybees can withstand cold environments, she offers us no information on honeybees or beekeeping in Africa, Asia or South America.
I find it difficult to believe that Europeans were the only peoples to keep honeybees. Didn’t the Chinese invent just about everything? Why not beekeeping? And if wild honey is collected in the Himalayas by Nepalese, doesn’t it stand to reason that the more sophisticated civilizations on the Indian sub-continent would also have had a relationship of some kind with honey and honeybees?
"Sweetness & Light" is an excellent, but limited, history of honey and honeybees. It left me hungry for more information on these fascinating creatures and their relationships with their environment and humans.
My only complaint is the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book is very thorough.. the last part seems hurried. Like she was running out of time for the due date with her publisher. Perhaps it could have been edited a bit better so that falling off wasn't so heavy handed, but then I would probably lose my favorite parts of the 1/2 half of the book. I liked Sweetness & Light very much and would like to re-read it. But I think I will read Robbing the Bees by Bishop first before I re-read this one. (well there is a silkworm book on my list and THEN robbing the bees)
Things I did not know. Like how honey is antimicrobial and when used in wound dressings creates hydrogrogen peroxide. It is one of the only effective treatments for MRSAs b'c it does not use antibiotics. Plus there was lots of talk about the symbolism of honeybees and how they were used at different times (virtue in victorian times, work ethic in the mormon church, etc). And there was a really cool description of a viewing hive that had a glass tube in the home so the bees could come down from the hive and visit and be watched while entertaining guests!! I SO want to know what that looked like.
This, of course, makes me want to have bees now more than ever. If only I owned this apt and could keep them on the roof!!! Talks with Amy while we were in ME make me think more seriously about getting bee tattoos on my feet. perhaps a skep on one side and a very detailed honeybee on the other. Bumblefeet Amy calls them and it makes me want to laugh!
Also, she's annoying. For instance: She describes a building