The book covers all aspects of bees and bee-keeping, providing lots of information for anyone who is interested in bees, not just bee-keepers.  In a chapter called ‘The Joy of Bees’ the book starts by detailing the history of bees and man’s relationship with them, the relationship spans back thousands of years.  Bees have been used in sacred rights throughout the ages.  The book tells us that in Britain alone there are over 200 species of bee and that not all are social like the honey bee.

The book is split into chapters such as; understanding bees, first things first, your bees, through the seasons, reaping your rewards, troubleshooting, and taking things further.

The chapters take the reader through all the stages of bee-keeping, from understanding bees and how to keep them through to bee threats and diseases and how to mitigate them.  The book also covers the honey bee by-products such as honey and beeswax.

At the end of each chapter there is a check-list of the issues covered making it easy to recap the main points.  These check-lists are also repeated at the end of the book in a comprehensive list. The book also gives a list of useful websites and further reading.

The book contains a wealth of information, I really enjoyed reading it and will refer back to it. As well as learning about the art of bee-keeping, I was introduced to  quite a lot of information about bees in general that I didn’t know before.

The book is published by Flame Tree Publishing who can also be found on twitter @flametreetweet.

…Churches, Houses, Castles

This was one of the books that I received for my birthday.  I also received England’s Thousand Best Houses, England’s Thousand Best Churches (both by Simon Jenkins) and The Garden’s of English Heritage (by Gillian Mawray and Linden Groves).  It has been one of my lunch time reads at work and if I left it lying around on the desk someone else was bound to pick it up and browse through it.

The book covers buildings that are great like the big Marcher castles and Cathedrals along with the small little known churches that are off the beaten track.  The criteria for inclusion in the book is that they must at least be open and accessible to the public.  Each building is given a star rating from 1 to 5, this does not relate to the quality or importance of the building but rather to the pleasure that is experienced during a visit to the place.

In addition to the architectural delights that are to be found between the covers there is also a wealth of information about the people who were associated with the buildings. This builds up a cultural history of Wales and brings the buildings to life.

I really enjoyed the book and found some little gems that I must make time to visit.  The book is well worth a read.  Each chapter covers a different county with a map to show where the properties are located, making it ideal to have to hand if you are visiting a specific area, either on holiday or for a day trip.

A breathtaking, intimate view of the heavenly bodies in our solar system.

In a unique grand tour, Dava Sobel tells the story of each member of our planetary family – touching on myth, history, astrology, science fiction and the very latest scientific data. Whether revealing what hisdes behind Venus’s cocoon of acid clouds, conjuring Neptune’s complex beauty, or capturing the excitement of the first pictures from Saturn’s moon Cassini to be beamed to earth, The planets is suffused with fascination and longing – and with prose, poetry and images throughout the centuries.

Review:

This is one of two books I picked up when I visited the National Maritime Museum recently (the other being Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History).

I found the book delightful, it gives an overview of the history of the solar system.  Dava gives each planet a personality of it’s own.  Mercury becomes mythology, Venus becomes beauty, Saturn becomes music of the spheres with each of the other planets having it’s own theme.  The changing style for each chapter makes the book easily accessible for everyone.

By including myths, facts and interesting asides the book gives a view of how people’s knowlege and perseption of the universe has changed over time as more information became available over time.

There is a comprehensive bibliography at the back of the book giving the reader opportunity for further reading.  There is also a ‘PS:’ section at the back of the book which gives further insights and interviews from the author.