“Jacobsen reminds readers that bees provide not just the sweetness of honey, but also are a crucial link in the life cycle of our crops.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer Many people will remember that Rachel Carson predicted a silent spring, but she also warned of a fruitless fall, a time with no pollination and no fruit. The fruitless fall nearly became a reality when, in 2007, beekeepers watched thirty billion bees mysteriously die. And they continue to disappear. The remaining pollinators, essential to the cultivation of a third of American crops, are now trucked across the country and flown around the world, pushing them ever closer to collapse. Fruitless Fall does more than just highlight this growing agricultural catastrophe. It emphasizes the miracle of flowering plants and their pollination partners, and urges readers not to take the abundance of our Earth for granted. A new afterword by the author tracks the most recent developments in this ongoing crisis.
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From Publishers Weekly
With a passion that gives this exploration of colony collapse disorder real buzz, Jacobsen (A Geography of Oysters) investigates why 30 billion honeybees—one-quarter of the northern hemisphere's population—vanished by the spring of 2007. He identifies the convergence of culprits—blood-sucking mites, pesticide buildup, viral infections, overused antibiotics, urbanization and climate change—that have led to habitat loss and the destruction of the beautiful mathematics of the hive. Honeybees are undergoing something akin to a nervous breakdown; they aren't pollinating crops as effectively, and production of commercial American honey, already undercut by cheap Chinese imports, is dwindling, even as beekeepers truck stressed honeybees cross-country to pollinate the fields of desperate farmers. Jacobsen pessimistically predicts that our breakfasts will become... a lot more expensive as the supply of citrus fruits, berries and nuts will inevitably decrease, though he expresses faith that more resilient bees can eventually emerge, perhaps as North American honeybees are crossbred with sturdier Russian queen bees. The author, now tending his own hives, invests solid investigative journalism with a poet's voice to craft a fact-heavy book that soars. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“A spiritual successor to Rachel Carson’s seminal eco-polemic Silent Spring…Jacobsen’s concern for the fate of the honey bee population is easily contagious…The Verdict: Read.”—Time “Mr. Jacobsen warns that we may be on the brink of just such a disaster…a detailed history of honeybee biology… [Jacobsen’s] analysis is helpful and instructive.”—Wall Street Journal “A delightful yet sobering look at how different our lives would be if bees disappear…an important book about one of our natural allies that, like us, is caught in difficult times.”—Arizona Republic “Past a certain point, we can’t make nature conform to our industrial model. The collapse of beehives is a warning—and the cleverness of a few beekeepers in figuring out how to work with bees not as masters but as partners offers a clear-eyed kind of hope for many of our ecological dilemmas.”—Bill McKibben, author 34 of Deep Economy
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Barbara
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book is very well researched and the author expresses himself in a very lively and interesting style that reads like a novel. He inserts humour at appropriate moments that will make you chuckle out loud.
The scientific and biological aspects are very well described using everyday analogies that we'd all understand. This book would be great for a beekeeper (like myself) or just someone who wants to know what is happening to the bees. You don't need any prior knowledge or understanding of bees to enjoy this book. As a beekeeper, you'll find all the research and interviews with the commercial beekeepers, scientists, etc., has been done for you and neatly laid out in a chronological order.
The book starts with the beginnings of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in Florida. From there the author takes us back a little to review the history of bees around the world (briefly and not overdone) but necessary in order to understand how we got to where we are now. He covers some bee biology and life both inside and outside the hive to give the reader a perspective on the sociology of bees through time as well.
He covers the importation of bees, the spread of bee diseases around the world, transport bees to pollinate for the almond industry in California, the laundering of Chinese honey into North America, just to name a bit. Alongside the story of bees, the growth of agriculture is explained. The novel covers the rise-fall-rise of honey on the market and its affect on the beekeeping industry and the bees.
The list of reference material at the back of the book is substantial. I've been researching honey bees for a while now and the sources of information are so great that it's impossible to read them all or keep up. This book is the finger on the pulse of the industry and condenses the whole story into one very readable book.
There are a few drawings in the book showing the parts of the hive, parts of the bee, etc.
The copy I'm currently reading came from the library but I will also be buying a copy for my personal library. I highly recommend this book as the best source of information on the whole story of what is happening to the honey bee and the beekeeping industry and our future in agriculture.
The scientific and biological aspects are very well described using everyday analogies that we'd all understand. This book would be great for a beekeeper (like myself) or just someone who wants to know what is happening to the bees. You don't need any prior knowledge or understanding of bees to enjoy this book. As a beekeeper, you'll find all the research and interviews with the commercial beekeepers, scientists, etc., has been done for you and neatly laid out in a chronological order.
The book starts with the beginnings of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in Florida. From there the author takes us back a little to review the history of bees around the world (briefly and not overdone) but necessary in order to understand how we got to where we are now. He covers some bee biology and life both inside and outside the hive to give the reader a perspective on the sociology of bees through time as well.
He covers the importation of bees, the spread of bee diseases around the world, transport bees to pollinate for the almond industry in California, the laundering of Chinese honey into North America, just to name a bit. Alongside the story of bees, the growth of agriculture is explained. The novel covers the rise-fall-rise of honey on the market and its affect on the beekeeping industry and the bees.
The list of reference material at the back of the book is substantial. I've been researching honey bees for a while now and the sources of information are so great that it's impossible to read them all or keep up. This book is the finger on the pulse of the industry and condenses the whole story into one very readable book.
There are a few drawings in the book showing the parts of the hive, parts of the bee, etc.
The copy I'm currently reading came from the library but I will also be buying a copy for my personal library. I highly recommend this book as the best source of information on the whole story of what is happening to the honey bee and the beekeeping industry and our future in agriculture.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
31 reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where have all the Honeybees Gone?
Oct 24 2008
By Dan Garlington
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
For several years, I've been hearing about the decline in honeybee populations around the world - but haven't heard the reason why. (Although I studied entomology in college, it's been years since my days were dedicated to following the lives of insects.) Fruitless Fall enlightened me to what's been going on (or sadly, not going on) in hives across the world. Along the way, it educated me about the history, art, and science of beekeeping, and clarified the unique & vital role honeybees play in the pollination of nearly all of our food crops - and predicts what the world might look like without them.
Rowan Jacobsen's investigation of why entire colonies of honeybees seem to be vanishing overnight reads a bit like a Patricia Cornwell detective novel: with Jacobsen playing the role of Cornwell's protaganist, identifying suspects (like varroa mites), and using science to reduce the suspect list down to the likely culprits. The payoff in the end might be less clear cut than a fictional murder investigation, but is just as satisfying a read.
Though some might consider the book as pessimistic, there is plenty of space in the pages of Fruitless Fall dedicated to efforts being made to change the current course and prevent a future of fruit trees hand pollinated by feathers or the disappearance of honey from our tables.
I've never like the cloying taste of the pasteurized honey I've bought in stores, but after reading Fruitless Fall I was inspired (like other reviewers) to try some raw, wild honey. My first spoonful out of a jar bought at my local farmers market revealed what I've been missing all these years - and what I hope my grandkids won't miss out on.
Rowan Jacobsen's investigation of why entire colonies of honeybees seem to be vanishing overnight reads a bit like a Patricia Cornwell detective novel: with Jacobsen playing the role of Cornwell's protaganist, identifying suspects (like varroa mites), and using science to reduce the suspect list down to the likely culprits. The payoff in the end might be less clear cut than a fictional murder investigation, but is just as satisfying a read.
Though some might consider the book as pessimistic, there is plenty of space in the pages of Fruitless Fall dedicated to efforts being made to change the current course and prevent a future of fruit trees hand pollinated by feathers or the disappearance of honey from our tables.
I've never like the cloying taste of the pasteurized honey I've bought in stores, but after reading Fruitless Fall I was inspired (like other reviewers) to try some raw, wild honey. My first spoonful out of a jar bought at my local farmers market revealed what I've been missing all these years - and what I hope my grandkids won't miss out on.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Power of the Pollinators
Nov 4 2008
By Cal Varnson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
A former co-worker of mine turned me onto the amazing world of honey bees and at one time mentioned the unexplained disappearance of bees throughout the U.S. I had no idea the problem was this severe and that the outlook appears to be rather grim, unless proper steps are taken today to protect the future.
The author does a fantastic job of outlining the problem and possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as well as providing a glimpse into the frightening world of global agriculture.
Update:
If you would like to read another book on bees, try:
"Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest-Working Creatures on the Planet"
by Susan Brackney
The author does a fantastic job of outlining the problem and possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as well as providing a glimpse into the frightening world of global agriculture.
Update:
If you would like to read another book on bees, try:
"Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest-Working Creatures on the Planet"
by Susan Brackney
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Author's Heart Is In the Right Place, But ...
Feb 16 2009
By Belize Traveller
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is a valuable perspective on Colony Collapse Disorder in honey bees, and what CCD may mean in the larger picture of modern agriculture.
CCD is killing off large number of bee colonies in the USA and elsewhere in the world -- Europe, Canada, Asia. Apparently healthy bees -- especially the Italian bee commonly kept by beekeepers in the USA and Europe -- suddenly disappear, leaving the hives virtually empty. In just the last year or two, perhaps one-third or more of the world's honey bees have died from CCD. Many theories have been put forward about the cause of CCD, but scientists as yet have no clear answer.
Jacobsen's conclusion is that there is no single cause. Many factors may be involved: Loss of habitat, weakening of bee colonies due to the varroa mite, monocultural agriculture on an industrial scale, massive and "unnatural" movement of bee hives by beekeepers for pollination of crops, use of antibiotics and miticides in hives, use of insecticides in agriculture, possibly in a few cases genetically modified crops and other etiologies. Jacobsen argues that several of these factors can contribute to poor nutrition in bees, to the disturbance of the overall "hive intelligence" and to many different problems that, when they reach a tipping point, cause the collapse of bee colonies.
In the end, Jacobsen's argument about bees and CCD is unconvincing. The "multi-cause" hypothesis simply doesn't explain why such a large number of bee colonies died suddenly and in such a short time, nor why CCD is present in many areas of the world where many of the causes he discusses (trucking bees long distances for pollination, monocultural agriculture, GM crops, and so on) aren't common.
However, Jacobsen's larger argument, unfortunately made superficially and without much data beyond the bees, is that with today's agricultural practices, including our current style of beekeeping, we run the risk of losing not only honey bees but pollinators of all kinds. That would be a disaster on a massive scale.
Jacobsen's heart is in the right place, and he yearns to go back to an older, more sustainable model of agriculture.
If nothing else, he has motivated me to look into taking up beekeeping again.
--Lan Sluder
CCD is killing off large number of bee colonies in the USA and elsewhere in the world -- Europe, Canada, Asia. Apparently healthy bees -- especially the Italian bee commonly kept by beekeepers in the USA and Europe -- suddenly disappear, leaving the hives virtually empty. In just the last year or two, perhaps one-third or more of the world's honey bees have died from CCD. Many theories have been put forward about the cause of CCD, but scientists as yet have no clear answer.
Jacobsen's conclusion is that there is no single cause. Many factors may be involved: Loss of habitat, weakening of bee colonies due to the varroa mite, monocultural agriculture on an industrial scale, massive and "unnatural" movement of bee hives by beekeepers for pollination of crops, use of antibiotics and miticides in hives, use of insecticides in agriculture, possibly in a few cases genetically modified crops and other etiologies. Jacobsen argues that several of these factors can contribute to poor nutrition in bees, to the disturbance of the overall "hive intelligence" and to many different problems that, when they reach a tipping point, cause the collapse of bee colonies.
In the end, Jacobsen's argument about bees and CCD is unconvincing. The "multi-cause" hypothesis simply doesn't explain why such a large number of bee colonies died suddenly and in such a short time, nor why CCD is present in many areas of the world where many of the causes he discusses (trucking bees long distances for pollination, monocultural agriculture, GM crops, and so on) aren't common.
However, Jacobsen's larger argument, unfortunately made superficially and without much data beyond the bees, is that with today's agricultural practices, including our current style of beekeeping, we run the risk of losing not only honey bees but pollinators of all kinds. That would be a disaster on a massive scale.
Jacobsen's heart is in the right place, and he yearns to go back to an older, more sustainable model of agriculture.
If nothing else, he has motivated me to look into taking up beekeeping again.
--Lan Sluder
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 31 reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
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