Home › Animals › A Book of Bees

A Book of Bees

by Sue Hubbell

Beekeeping through the seasons

Regular price $15.90 USD
Regular price $24.85 USD Sale price $15.90 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New English

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Editorial selection

    A New York Times Notable Book

    Named a New York Times Notable Book.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Beekeeping through the seasons

Sue Hubbell’s account connects the year-round work of managing 300 hives on a small Missouri farm with the changing life of a bee colony. Honey harvesting and hive care provide the practical thread, while the book also traces the author’s life alongside the seasons of rural living. Its subjects extend to solitude, independence, and adapting to nature, set against the Ozarks landscape. Photographs by Sam Potthoff accompany the text.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in beekeeping and honey production
  • Readers drawn to nature writing about insects and rural life
  • Readers interested in memoirs exploring solitude and independence

Themes

Beekeeping and honey harvestingSeasonal cyclesRural life in the OzarksSolitude and independenceLiving alongside nature

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A New York Times Notable Book, Sue Hubbell's A Book of Bees is "a melodious mix of memoir, nature journal, and beekeeping manual" (Kirkus Reviews).

Weaving a vivid portrait of her own life and her bees' lives, Sue Hubbell lovingly describes the ins and outs of beekeeping on her small Missouri farm, where the end of one honey season is the start of the next. With three hundred hives, Hubbell stays busy year-round tending to the bees and harvesting their honey, a process that is as personally demanding as it is rewarding.

Exploring the progression of both the author and the hive through the seasons, this is "a book about bees to be sure, but it is also about other things: the important difference between loneliness and solitude; the seasonal rhythms inherent in rural living; the achievement of independence; the accommodating of oneself to nature" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Beautifully written and full of exquisitely rendered details, it is a tribute to Hubbell's wild hilltop in the Ozarks and of the joys of living a complex life in a simple place.

Includes Photographs by Sam Potthoff.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews