The History of Bees by Maja Lunde (A Review by Janice Carkner)

The History of Bees shares the story of three individuals whose stories take place in different countries and at different times: England, 1852; United States, 2007; and China, 2098. Their stories are woven together through their experience with the value of bees and beekeeping production, the critical importance and effect of pollination on the food supply, and the deeply concerning decline in the bee population and the terrifying outcome if bees become extinct. Today, the discourse on sustainable agricultural practices remains pivotal and first rank. This book really underlines this discussion. Maja Lunde does a wonderful job of telling the three stories in way that truly substantiates the importance of protecting bees. In reading this book, I became really upset and worried about the influence of unsustainable agricultural practices and their negative effects on the bee population which ultimately will affect the human population. I gave this book a 3.5 because I wanted the stories of the individuals to evolve a bit more. I was not emotionally attached to any of the individuals. While the impact of the declining bee population was clear and emotional for me to read, I wanted to feel a bit more connected to the individuals in the stories. I expected a bit more closure to the end of each story. Overall, I would recommend this book because the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and our delicate ecology should be understood by everyone, and this book does a great job with conveying this. By Janice Carkner