Eva Crane 1999 720 pages Hardback (C320) This is a very important major work, itself a step in 'The history of beekeeping' and it is impossible to satisfactorily summarise this book in a few words. The book examines how humans have exploited bees from prehistoric times until today. Archaeology has revealed information about hives used in Ancient Crete, Greece and Egypt, and by Maya people keeping stingless bees in Mesoamerica. From this evidence Eva Crane has worked out routes by which such methodologies may have spread from one region to another. The text in the 54 chapters is accompanied by hundreds of interesting illustrations and diagrams, showing beekeeping from past ages and explaining different types of technology. The vast amount of information is also made accessible through indices of personal names, of peoples, a geographical index and a subject index. In terms of information per page it represents excellent value! Order usually dispatched between 4-6 weeks.