Before purchasing this book, I first went to the local library and took out a bunch of books on beekeeping. Most were too technical, and the rest were just plain dull. This is the one with not only down to earth information, but a lot of really great photos to guide the newcomer.
I feel confident now that I can begin my adventure into beekeeping next Spring.

This is an excellant book of all the information that you need to know as a novice beekeeper. There are a lot of very clear colored photos so you get a close up of what is being discribed. There are some nice food recipes, and recipes and instructions on how to make candles and soaps. This is an easy to read, well worth the money book. A "must have" for beekeepers.

This is the book every new beekeeper should get. They say a picture is worth a thousand words - and this book is filled with them - IN COLOR (a must). The information and techniques are right on... I've been a beekeeper for a year or so, and of all the books I have, this is the one I go to the most still.

This is a well-written, extremely accessible edition for lay beekeepers who want to get to know their creatures, and take first steps to caring for and cultivating the bees' magical harvest.
Great photos, helpful tips and concise essays on the art of apitherapy too.

This was hard for me to put down, and appeared to cover all the things a beginning bee keeper should know and included recipes for using honey. It was well written and interesting. However, after reading it, I did decide not to try to keep bees in the city, as I don't want to create problems for my neighbors. I will wait til we have our homestead in the country.

The bee diseases were addressed in what appeared to me to be a conventional, western medical model. I am interested in learning if there are effective alternative 'holistic' approaches to managing bees, so have also purchased a book on natural bee keeping. I have heard that some natural bee keepers address some diseases by using paper towels soaked in coconut oil. I would like to learn how to produce our own honey without exposing my bees and family to chemicals.

Vicki

I bought this book last month. I had hoped that it would be a complete guide for bee-keeping. It is not a complete guide but it is a complete introduction.

So, now I am looking for a bee-keeping guide with more detail. And I think that anyone who seriously wishes to pursue keeping bees will want additional resources beyond this book. As its title suggests, this work is just the "bare bones" of beekeeping and lacks the detail or depth that a beekeeper will need. Still, overall, I found this a good introduction and would recommend it to others starting up a backyard apiary hobby!

The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner's Guide ... gives the beginner an overall feel for what he can expect from bee-keeping, both the hard work and the fun.

This bee book is well worth having if you are bran-new to beekeeping. It has a little bit of everything needed to get going. Simplicity and clarity are it's hallmarks.It is not the book for an experienced large scale producer...that is a significantly different world. I love it and it is an excellent resource to start the photos are fantastic and very useful. A few more photos detailing the extracting process would have made it better. Since I am very nearsighted the very small print is no problem I just take off my glasses. I think the author is on the right track and I would advise him to produce a large-print edition with many more descriptive photos and drawings also additional recipes. But what is here, as is, is great. One shock...the low price for the book considering the quality of the book and it's photography I would have expected to pay ten dollars more so the reasonable cost was also very nice.

What a great book to get started on a new hobby. Simple but with details at the same time.

What a great book to get started on a new hobby. Simple but with details at the same time.

Having some challanges with arthritis and "bee-ing" a part-time beekeeper the push for quality over quantity makes sense.

Going to 8 frame medium system makes visits to my bee yard enjoyable rather than need a helping hand to lift heavy 10 frame hive bodies & full supers. Or needing to take time off due to strained body parts!

Seems that Brushy Mountain lead the charge back towards 8 frame equipment and more now offer it - Better Bee has 7/8 thick wooden ware, Ross "specials" 8 frame cypress systems for the same cost as their 10 frame in the standard 3/4 thick. I've got all three doing a comparison, plus a home made 7/8 cedar setup.

Book has a well thought out progression for all beekeepers, especially those that may be holding back beacuse of the heaviness of 10 framing.

Think it's a must have for all, and when companioned with Natural Beekeeping very helpful to backyarders/small bee yarders looking for alternatives to "modern methods" of 10 frame and chemicals!

Hive management for me is settling to be 3 medium supers running black pierco brood frames (sometimes just two "hive mediums") & having three mediums with white piercos for honey supers.

The Brushy Mountain Garden Hive Copper Top fits all & makes the beeyard quite a conversation topic.

I use this book for my beekeeping classes. It is simply one of, if not the best beginner books out there covering a little of everything from start to finish. I highly recommend it.
Rich Waite
Owner Black Cat Honey

This book has a lot of good information in it, the Photos are great, but the small and light print on the glossy pages make it very hard to read unless you just happen to have a magnifying glass.

But I wanted to read about Top Bar Hives and this book didn't really go into any detail about them.

This covers bee keeping well for a beginner. Wish that they discussed more organic options for theatment of problems.

This was an easy to read book for beginner beekeepers. This book had great pictures and was helpful for any level beekeeper.

Good book for beginners from getting the right equipment to extracting the honey. Great color pictures that are very informative.

Kim writes an excellent book on the joys of beekeeping. It is engaging for those who are seriously considering keeping bees and for those who think the idea of keeping bees is merely interesting.

There are many topics covered in the book. Fundamentals in bee biology, honey plants and even hive products such as candles and balms are discussed.

This is an excellent book with useful information, quality photos and is a great all-around pleasureable read. Highly recommended.

Visit www.[...] to learn more about bees after reading this book!

My bees are coming in less than 2 months, and this book is the first and only one I have bought. I am glad that I did!

He starts with a brief explanation of the history of bees and beekeeping as well as bee biology and basic behavior (which is important to understand in order to know what the heck they are doing at any given time).

Then he clearly explains what types of bees you can order and in what "packaging" and the equipment that you need as a beginner and what its use is.

He provides good pictures and diagrams that detail out what he is talking about, so you know what a queen looks like, what the entire stack of equipment looks like and where each goes in the hive.

Then he gives a detailed analysis of the current state of diseases, mites, and other bee enemies and how to treat them, not taking sides on the ecological/chemical approaches.

There are also two sections that cover step-by-step what you do when you get your bees (how do you get them into your hive without having a mutiny) and what you need to do for your bees throughout the different seasons of the year, culminating in how to harvest honey and how to extract it.

The end of the book has some beeswax and honey recipes for food and products that you can make, and was useful but not necessary.

The only complaint I have about the book is that he doesn't cover the foundation that you put in the frames in enough detail. Foundation is an important and yet very confusing part of the hive for a new-bee like me.

This book is exactly what you need as a beginning beekeeper.

This title explains in step-by-step detail the many technical challenges and exciting rewards of amateur beekeeping. It is easy to understand and a joy to read! I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering starting their own bee colonies.

This title explains in step-by-step detail the many technical challenges and exciting rewards of amateur beekeeping. It is easy to understand and a joy to read! I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering starting their own bee colonies.

This book is very good at extracting basic and intermediate information from a large selection of beekeeping manuals. Once I entered this world of beekeeping, I soon found an overwealming amount of information available on this subject. I enjoyed this book's ability to bridge the gap between the usual vague coverage of a begining beekeeping book and the thick manuals I am now pouring through. The illustrations and quick reference characteristics make this book a great addition to any home library.