SWEETNESS & LIGHT: THE MYSTERIOUS HISTORY OF THE HONEY BEE.

UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj,with white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright, tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation. Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain burgundy cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,1- 290pp [paginated] includes a prologue,12 chapters,profuse b/w diagrams & photographs,throughout the text and the book; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,an epigram,contents list/table, acknowledgements and picture acknowledgements.
Life is as big as the world and as small as the honey bee.As well as giving mankind both sweetness and light - from honey and candle wax - the bee does nothing less than keep us alive by pollinating trees and many of the plants that we eat. In 'Sweetness and Light',Hattie Ellis tells the story of this amazing insect and its mysterious world, exploring how bees have flown into our lives throughout history,inspiring and obsessing writers,artists,scientists and architects,and entering the languages and customs of people everywhere.She describes the complex politics of the hive; how bees communicate by such manoeuvres as the 'waggle dance';and how they make flights equivalent to three circuits of the globe to produce a pound of honey,each bee yielding less than half a teaspoonful in its lifetime.She tells of bees' collective power,the savage energy of the killer African bees swarming across America,and the lethal mechanics of their sting; and she examines issues at the forefront of scientific research,such as how best to harness honey's medicinal qualities.Travelling from heather moorland to inner city,Hattie talks to extraordinary beekeepers from New York to New Zealand about how honey, the ultimate global/local food,is produced and use today.In a world under pressure,can its miraculous purity survive pollution and the monoculture of the modern countryside? In this beautiful written book, Hattie Ellis shows us how the mysteries of bees and honey remain a talisman for all that is curious,fascinating,delightful and perilous about the natural world and our place within it. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
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