Description

Hardcover

A year in the life of New York Citys premier beekeeper, who chronicles his adventures and the quirky personalities he encounters while spreading his infinite knowledge of and passion for the remarkable honey bee.

Cotes charming and poignant essay collection delivers the entertainment and smarts required to make real change in how we look at our planetand ourselves.Andrew Zimmern

Considered an industry legend byThe New York Times,Andrew Cot has one of the most intriguing, challenging, and unique jobs in New York Citymaintaining millions of honey bees atop some of the citys most iconic buildings. His apiaries have crowned the Waldorf Astoria and the Museum of Modern Art; reside on the North Lawn of the United Nations; reign above stores, hotels, restaurants, schools, churches, and synagogues; and are situated in community gardens, and even cemeteries, throughout the five boroughs.

In this debut collection, Cot takes readers with him on his daily apiary adventures over the course of a year, in the city and across the globe. Here, among his many duties, he is called to capture swarms that have clustered on fire hydrants, air-conditioning units, or street-vendor umbrellas. Annually, he travels with his father to regions like remote Fijian islands, rural Uganda, Haiti, Ecuador, or Iraq with his organization, Bees Without Borders, where he teaches beekeepers how to increase their honey yield and income via beekeeping endeavors.

Written with Cots trademark humor, acumen, and a healthy dose of charm,Honey and Venomilluminates the obscure culture of New York City beeks and the biology of the bees themselves, from the humble drone to the fittingly named worker to the queen herselfwho is more a slave than a monarch. The hive world, Cot reveals, is full of strivers and slackers, givers and takers, and even some insect promiscuitystartlingly similar to the prickly human variety.

For Cot, a fourth-generation beekeeper, this is a family tradition, and this personal significance pervades his celebration of the romance and mystery of bees, their honey, and the beekeepers whose lives revolve around these most magical creatures.

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