The Backyard Beekeeper - Revised and Updated: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden

By Kim Flottum, past editor of Bee Culture Magazine. The man knows what he talking about

Beginning bee keeper needing all the knowledge I can get. I have been in a number of classes and seen on online vids this book being referenced as the absolute necessity for anyone getting into the hobby.My wife ordered this book me for Father's Day. I got the book and took it to the pool while the kids swam. Between that afternoon and later that night, I cruised through this book. It is great. It is filled with great closeup pictures that really demonstrate each of the points that the author is making.It is a very comprehensive book that walks through almost every situation that arises in beekeeping; from the purchasing of the equipment, to what type of equipment/hives to get, to the different strains of bees, to hive inspections, to issues that may arise, to health issues and hive invaders to mistakes to avoid, and on and on. The book also includes a thorough walk-though of what needs to be done each season of the year in respect to working with the bees and the hives.The chapters of the book are:1) Starting Right2) About Bees3) About Beekeeping (including thorough discussion about honey)4) About Beeswax5) 25 Rules of Modern BeekeepingNOTE: Don't get fooled by only 5 chapters. There's almost 200 pages in this book, it's about 8"x10" in size, and for my old eyes, the print was rather small. There's a TON of info here.There is a huge wealth of knowledge in this book. It will be indispensable as my family moves forward with beekeeping. I will reference this book continually.I hope I have helped your purchasing decision of this product. I am not affiliated with the manufacturer, seller or any other product related company nor am I under any obligation to write this review. I do this for my own fun and to help others in the Amazon Community! Feel free to comment and let me know if I have helped you, and please note below if this review was able to help. If you should have any questions, please post them below in the Comments. I try to answer all inquires in a timely fashion to the best of my ability.

GET IT!!!!! What a great introduction and overview of all the aspects of bees and beekeeking!! A delightful read and packed with relevant, practical, and useful information!! Particularly if you are considering whether or not to get into beekeeping in your own back yard (and trying to realistcally assess or evaluate the personal time and cost committments involved), this is the book for you!! Also try to talk to a local beekeeper or local beekeeping club for personal as well as relevant specific local info and tips! GET IT!!!!!One Important CAUTION: The paperback 3rd Edition (c) 2014 is a beautiful book with lovely layout. HOWEVER, it is printed in super super tiny 20-point type printed with gray ink (NOT solid black) with white and pastel backgrounds on very shinny stock. Hey there book layout designers! My eyes are 70 years old! Gimmie a break! It's a real strain to read 20 characters an inch for 5 minutes without a serious eyeballl break! (Note to self, get eyes checked for new glasses next week!!) Is there a heavy hardback normal-print edition? Will try the Kindle edition free sample to see what it looks like on my phone.UPDATE: EXCELLENT Kindel Edition!! Even on a phone, photos and text are very clear in a linear format While you loose the artistic coffee-table layout of the paperback, the default electronic font size is not only easily readable, but adjustable! Finally, I can binge read this book!! If you already got the paperback edition from Amazon, you can add the Kindle version for only $3 (vs $12 for Kindle only). Done deal!!

my grandfather kept 35 hives of bees (fruit trees and a thriving garden as a result) conveniently right down the road a piece from the medina OH headquarters of the a.i. root co., fount of all things beeish in 20th century america. that this root was brother to elihu root, abe lincoln's secretary of war, was known to me as a result of this geographical happenstance, and also that a.i. was the genius who imported italianate bees (the "killer" bees of their day) to promote the crop pollination that led america to feed itself and a big chunk of the rest of the western world for most of a century. i also learned at a young age that bees don't "bite," they sting -- but only if you get in their way or are a threat to the queen -- and that the worker bees are the females, while the male (drone) bees are allowed to lay about for the most part until needed. i liked that last part best.thank you kim flottum for assembling this kind of information and updating it from the farms of the 20 century to the backyards of the 21th, giving a multitude of new hands the information and techniques needed to join the battle against the factory farm depredation that threatens bee populations, and to enjoy bees as our besties -- gobbling up their surplus honey and for the most part avoiding their stings (excepting fashion models who may need them for their lips).

Very happy I bought this. I've just started a beekeeping course. This isn't one of the books they recommended but as the teachers are 'old hands' at beekeeping they may take quite a lot for granted. This book is packed full of photos which give life to the text. It seems to cover everything I need to know as I will only be keeping a hive in the garden so I won't need any indepth knowledge about running an apiary. The book does not favour one bee over another and really makes no mention of different types - these things can get very stormy I believe. If you favour one bee such as the Native Irish over the Buckfast you will need to read elsewhere for such information. If you are just starting out this is a fine contribution to the genre.

This book is filled with lots of great and useful information about bees and the keeping of them. It is written by an american so it is good to be able to ignore the bits about skunks attacking the hive and wonder whether foxes are as brave!This is a book that will be looked at again and again.

This book is a great concise guide to bee keeping, it tells you all you need to know to get going and use as a reference. It inspired me to go on a bee keeping course. Now I need to save the declining bee population - I may need some help in this area. here's a good place to start.

recieved in perfect condition.i think its a good book for beginners.i enjoyed reading it.thank you very much

My wife was thinking of starting her own apiary. I bought this book for her to help with the decision. She now uses it as a handy reference manual as she expands her skill set with her new hive.