Mark Magill is a long-standing and avid beekeeper as well as a journalist, author and editor.

This book wasn't quite what I expected, but I loved it anyway. First of all, the Meditation and the Art of Beekeeping is great and I only wished someone had asked me what I was reading at the time so I could have told them. It is also physically beautiful, with lovely endpapers and great quality paper, which I didn't think mattered all that much to me, but I must admit is a great bonus. It's the sort of book you'd get from the Folio Society.

And now for the content: I was expecting something along the lines of: 'Look at the bees; see how they hum. As they hum so must you hum your mantra.' Actually the book has three subjects: firstly the author's initial experiences with bees and information on basic beekeeping, secondly his current battles for the survival of his hives and thirdly information about meditation. What you get is a little bit about one subject, then a little bit about another. Sometimes there is an obvious link and sometimes there isn't. It's a pleasant journey, and I didn't feel there was ever too much on one subject because just when I felt I had a lot to take in (I am eager to learn), the subject would move on to another topic.

Now I happen to be enrolled on a beekeeping course in a few months time and I happen to be eager to develop my meditation skills, so you could say that this book was made for me. Who else might be interested? Actually, anyone with an interest in bees would enjoy this, and anyone afraid of bees too, as understanding your enemy is the first stage of defense. But don't buy this book if you couldn't care less about bees - I don't think the author would want you to anyway.

• 144 pages
• h 200mm x w 130mm
• hardback
• 31,000 words
• Printed ISBN:978-1-907332-39-5
• Epub ISBN:978-1-907332-70-8
• Ebook ISBN:978-1-907332-65-4

The following rights for this title have already been sold:

UK
US
ANZ
Canadian
French