Practical Beekeeping

Rating:
Summary: If you're new to bees read this book
Review: I'm not usually one to write book reviews but when I see such a negative review as Nicola Davies'go unchallenged well I just have to come to Clive de Bruin's defence. His book is by far the most concise and readable book on the subject of beekeeping that I've read to date. In hindsight, I might not agree with everything that he has to say but I think its a very good book for beginners. I would totally disagree with Nicola's criticism regarding de Bruin's use of technical terms without explanation. I found quite the opposite to be the case - the author takes great care not to assume any prior knowledge on behalf of the reader. I found this a very useful reference book for dipping into having first read it through from start to finish.

Rating:
Summary: He knows the stuff, but he can't write to save his life.
Review: The author has a lifetime's experience in managing bees in Britain and abroad. But as an introduction to beekeeping this book fails miserably. He constantly uses technical terms without explanation and doesn't present the information in any sort of sensible order. My advice is only read this book in the presence of an experienced beekeeper.