Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest Working Creatures on the Planet
(March 1, 2010)
By: Susan Brackney
Publisher: Hay House UK Ltd
ISBN-10: 1848501935
A Review by Glyn Davies
Plan Bee is a new publication by an American writer and which has absolutely nothing to do with, as far as I can tell, The Cooperative in UK which has its own Plan Bee in operation here. This inexpensive, delightful account of basic beekeeping is summarised in the sub-title in the front cover “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest Working Creature on the Planet”. And here is my only criticism as this extreme statement should be followed by the words “ …. In your first year as a beekeeper.”
I am sure that every new apiarist will appreciate the easy to read folksy style of writing and as a teacher of the craft for many years now, the facts and anecdotes accurately and passionately described by Susan Brackney are totally consistent with modern understanding of bee management for their health and productivity. The book beautifully complements the principles and facts that I have tried to pass on to my students and with more charm and light-hearted humour that I could ever present.
The first flush of bee-fever in newly committed beekeepers is for most people overwhelming. The mass of facts to absorb and skills of observation and practical techniques must seem daunting, but this book will help people adapt to and develop their new passion painlessly. This is because Susan Brackney is clearly taken with acute and now controlled bee-fever - but she is now extremely infectious! Her enthusiasm will be passed on, beneficially to all readers of this book. Her American experience shows that the problems and sought for solutions are global in nature and unite beekeepers worldwide in their responsibility to maintain our amazing and vital bees in good health combating many new and old difficulties.
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