WHAT THE BEES SEE: A Honeybee's Eye View of the World, another gorgeous gift book from Chronicle Books

WHAT THE BEES SEE: A Honeybee's Eye View of the World
CRAIG P. BURROWS
Chronicle Books
$40.00 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Discover the magical world of the honeybee with this deluxe book, featuring 70 stunning images shot with ultraviolet technology.

A comprehensive look into the amazing science of bees, this book collects mesmerizing ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF) photography of flowers and nature and offers fascinating research that explores every aspect of our relationship with honeybees. Learn about the history of beekeeping, current environmental impacts affecting bees, and the rise of bee products in medical and wellness spaces. As you travel through the world of bees, you'll discover a diverse range of flora showcased in a whole new light through the ultraviolet spectrum, from orchids and anemones to manuka and cactus blossoms. A gorgeous gift for environmentalists and photography fans alike, this in-depth book invites us to reimagine the world from a bee's point of view and better understand its importance to the future of all life on earth.

PHENOMENAL NATURE IMAGERY: Craig P. Burrows has been specializing in UVIVF photography for nearly a decade, and this book includes 70 incredible photos taken using this innovative technique. Burrow's luminescent images capture the magic of nature and showcase flowers glowing in otherworldly blues and teals, simulating how bees and other pollinators become attracted to the plants.

GET THE BUZZ ABOUT BEES: In addition to the incredible UV photography, this book features engaging illustrations and infographics, archival and historical images, and original interviews with over forty of the world’s leading experts on bees and bee products. Organized into three distinct sections on bee ecosystems, bee products and cultivation, and modern medical and wellness advances tied to bees, this in-depth book illuminates the extraordinary role the honeybee has played throughout history and will answer questions you didn’t even know you had.

SUSTAINABILITY GIFT BOOK: This deluxe photobook is a great gift for nature lovers, bee and beekeeping enthusiasts, and anyone who cares about environmental conservation and preservation. Add it to the shelf with books like the National Geographic Photo Ark series by Joel Sartore and DK's The Bee Book.

Perfect for:

Bee, insect, and bug enthusiasts

Nature lovers and environmental activists

Flower and nature photography lovers

People interested in learning about bee products used in medicine, wellness, and skincare

People interested in UVIVF technology and innovative photography techniques

Fans of nature documentaries like David Attenborough’s Life In Color series

Fans of Craig P. Burrows's research and photography

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: This is an absolutely amazing subject. We know we don't experience a lot of the world as it is, most wavelengths of light are invisible to us. The modern world has offered us so many ways to simulate the experience of perceiving the things we're missing that it's become almost routine to see some new image previously unimaginable.

The entire scientific world is agog, for example, over the infrared discoveries the James Webb Space Telescope is making with every data release. Miracles of discovery are taking place in astrophysics, in astronomy, that were inconceivable (that word means exactly what I think it means) a decade ago.

Now it's the Earthbound world's turn.

The author is a horticulturist, an artist, and a photographer who marries all his passions with a scientist's viewpoint. He's been published in National Geographic, so we know he's at the top of his field. His horticultural training, melded to his photographic career, led to the idea of this book.

I've selected some design-heavy pages to go with his absolutely stunning (to me, anyway) photos that marry UV perception to our ordinary perception. I hope it gives you an idea of just what a visual feast this book is. Stunning in the best possible way—I was a bit dizzy from looking at the blends of perception the author and publisher created and presented here.

The text is very much what I expected. The author speaks knowledgeably about the honeybee, its life and its function in nature. He carefully grounds the reader in the reality of the creature's ways and means before waxing lyrical about its very different perception that we call vision.

It is not a kids' book. It's what I'd encourage you to give to your budding biologist, your green-the-world young person, or the shutterbug giftee...the physicist, the gardener, the environmentalist...anyone who loves beautiful books....

It is a lovely thing to have on your coffee table, if you've been extra-good and Santa needs to reward you, too.