Book Reviews
The following books are all available from our Club Library which can be viewed at the monthly meeting.
Beeswax Alchemy by Petra Ahnert (2015) Available from Booktopia for $31.90AUD inc shipping
This is a cracker of a book if you've got the slightest hint of creativeness in your bones. Wax is awesome! It includes an introduction to beeswax's form and functions, tips and techniques for transforming beeswax into useful products for home and health and detailed recipes to get you started crafting your own soaps, balms, salves and more. This book gives you lots of recipes, as easy or challenging as you please with clear instructions, lots of pictures of methods used and a detailed glossary of all the ingredients listed in the book. It is softcover 26cm x 21cm 136 pages 
The Australian Beekeeping Manual by Robert Owen
2015 It retails for $40 from booktopia.com.au This large hard-cover manual was first published in 2015 making it the most contemporary book of it’s kind available at present. It covers all of the required information for beginners with a four page contents section outlining 19 chapters in all. As well as all the usual information you would expect a book for beginners to cover it also contains chapters on: preparing honey for sale, sustainable beekeeping, the bee friendly garden and native bees. I have noticed that this book is being included as the Beginner Beekeeping textbook to students attending some Beginner Courses 
Australian Beekeeping Guide by RIRDC's Russell Goodman
For those honey bee enthusiasts, an updated and revised version of the Australian Beekeeping Guide is also now available. Produced by a partnership between the Government, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, and Horticulture Innovation Australia, the guide was first published in 1925 and has been revised many times since to ensure that novice and experienced beekeepers alike can benefit from expertise in all facets of apiculture. Co-author Russell Goodman is a bee keeping legend in Victoria, he produced a version of the guide in the 1970s and has been working with the honey bee industry on behalf of the Victorian Government for over forty years. The guide is available for download free of cost and is available at www.rirdc.gov.au. |
Backyard Bees
by Doug Purdie - Aug 2014 Available through Angus & Robertson for $27.95AUD I just LOVE this well presented hardcover book. It is a fabulous beginners book but also for the slightly more experienced it's a really easy to read basic beekeeping book. Here is what Angus & Robertson have to say about the book. Just about anyone can keep bees. All you need is a bit of space in your backyard (or on your rooftop) and a little love for the creatures that pollinate the vegie patches of your neighbourhood. Once introduced to the charms of beekeeping and the taste of warm honeycomb direct from the hive, you'll be hooked. Backyard Bees is the ultimate guide to installing and maintaining a hive through the seasons. Learn how easy it is to keep happy, healthy bees, and how and when to harvest the liquid gold. Including extensive advice on choosing a hive and the equipment you need; case studies and anecdotes from beekeepers from all walks of life; and 20 delicious recipes for all that honey, from Toasted Honey Granola to Bees Knees Cocktails. 
The Bee Book by Ann Cliff (Aus)
Sept 2010 Although some people believe that our reliance on bees for the cultivation of food crops is much exaggerated (as some major staples like rice, wheat and even potatoes don't need them), there is no doubt that there are many crops whose very survival depends on bees. And that is why the recent, somewhat mysterious decline in bee populations around the world is so concerning to people who worry about the future of our natural environment. Anyone interested in growing food, who wants to find out what a beehive or two will give them, even on such a small scale as the suburban backyard or the terrace house garden, will find this book an indispensible introduction to keeping bees. 
The Beekeeper’s Bible
by Richard Jones & Sharon Sweeney-Lynch March 2010 This book is as much an ultimate guide to the practical essentials of beekeeping as it is a beautiful almanac to be read from cover to cover. Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one's own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products, and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Fully illustrated with how-to photography and unique etchings, any backyard enthusiast or gardener can confidently dive into beekeeping with this book in hand (or daydream about harvesting their own honey while relaxing in the comfort of an armchair). |
The Bee Friendly Garden 🐝
Aug 2016 Available from Booktopia for $30AUD DOUG PURDIE HAS DONE IT AGAIN! Yep, he’s nailed it again. This book is absolutely gorgeous. It is beautifully presented with hundreds of lovely pictures of perfect plants, flowers and gardens. Perusing the contents page makes you want to read it all at once. As well as having photographs that you want to just dive into, it is packed full of useful and interesting information and it is written by an Australian for Australian Gardeners and Australian conditions. This book succinctly and effectively covers so many subjects including the well-being of native and European bees, whether total weed annihilation is wise, gardening without the use of ‘cides’, good bees and bad bees, good bugs, pest control recipes and companion planting - just to name a few. There are lists and photographs of recommended plants for foraging honey bees from ground covers through to shrubs and trees. Doug Purdie has made this book very easy to read with his casual writing style but doesn’t skimp on facts and research results which back up many of his suggestions for achieving a healthy, well balanced, natural Bee Friendly Garden. 
Ag Guide - A Practical Handbook
Healthy Bees: Available from Shop NSW for $25AUD Pests and diseases can attack specific stages in the lifecycle of the honey bee and they can also attack specific castes. This publication covers the management of pests, diseases and other disorders of the honey bee. Table of contents: The honey bee Colony size Nutrition Effects of seasons and location Disease and disorder Strategies to prevent disease Diseases of brood Diseases of adult honey bees Hive pests Exotic pests Surveillance and response to exotic pests and disease Honey bees and the law Glossary of terms Published in 2014, Healthy bees is part of the AgGuide series and is 75 full-colour A4 pages. |