Thor Hanson is a conservation biologist, Guggenheim Fellow, and author of award-winning books including Buzz, Feathers, The Impenetrable Forest, and The Triumph of Seeds. He lives with his wife and son on an island in Washington State.
www.thorhanson.net
"Buzz shines the most brightly...when Hanson's own adoration of
bees comes through: he wanders around the landscape observing them
and musing about their natural history in ways that light up the
page...A rewarding choice for readers keen on science and
nature."--NPR
"Buzz provokes thought and promotes action."--Coast Weekend
"[A] lively look at bees. From exploring the insect's evolutionary
beginnings to profiling celebrity beekeepers, Hanson reminds us
that we should appreciate these complex creatures, which are vital
to our way of life."--Seattle Magazine
"[Hanson] is a charmingly enthusiastic bee fanatic and his book is
a pleasure to read."--Daily Mail
"A loving, infectiously enthusiastic natural history."--Christian
Science Monitor
"According to Thor Hanson's Buzz, the relationship between bees and
the human lineage goes back three million years...Both our world
and our brains, it seems, have been profoundly shaped by
bees."--New York Review of Books
"As he did for feathers and seeds, Thor Hanson has written a
wonderfully engaging work of natural history that will delight
readers with its elegant prose, surprising stories, and deep
humanity. Bees, so important to life on earth, are fortunate to
have someone as passionate and knowledgeable as Hanson tell the
tale of their evolutionary past, turbulent present, and precarious
future. After reading Buzz, you will look at bees with a profound
mixture of awe and gratitude."--Eric Jay Dolin, author of
BlackFlags, Blue Waters, and Leviathan
"Celebrates the wide diversity of bee anatomy and behavior...The
storyline here is a sadly familiar denouement to many modern
natural histories, a tale of pathogens, habitat destruction,
pesticides...[But] if there are a few sour notes in its closing
bars, the prevailing buzz in Hanson's book is sweet, sweet
music."--Natural History
"Charming...Hanson is an upbeat and often humorous guide...If you
have time to read one book on what is happening with modern bees,
you couldn't do better than Buzz."--Science
"Delightful...Bringing to mind Bill Bryson's complicated, but
engaging ability to intertwine nature, science, art, history and
culture, Hanson weaves a similar spell about the world's 20,000
species of bees."--Winnipeg Free Press
"Engaging."--Scientific American
"Engagingly written, well researched, widely informative...Hanson
is a conservation biologist with an infectious curiosity."
--American Bee Journal
"Enjoyable...Hanson's enthusiasm in infectious."--Current
Biology
"Entertaining...The author's point is plain: we need to adopt an
approach to insects and to their central role in the maintenance of
all life."--New Statesman
"For this natural history of the bee, biologist Thor Hanson wings
far beyond the hive to explore bee species from 'bumbles' to wool
carders... Apiology, Hanson reminds us, is not just about the
scientific buzz: bee behaviour has shed light on human issues from
addiction to collective decision-making."--Nature
"Fun, fascinating and full of engaging pen portraits of the
scientists and bee enthusiasts [Hanson] meets in the course of his
research...By the final section of this book Hanson's sense of
wonder has rubbed off on us."--Guardian
"Hanson is an insightful observer of evolution, at his most elegant
when digging deep into the science...[His] senses are, indeed,
sharp when observing the natural world."--Wall Street Journal
"Hanson...is surprisingly optimistic that we can reform and protect
our bees, citing recent research and improved agricultural
practices. In Buzz, he states his case while entertainingly
recounting human-and-bee history and his own experiences with many
bee species."--Booklist
"If you think the sting of declining bee populations won't affect
you, think again...Hanson take[s] himself and readers on a journey
of exploration."--Bend Bulletin
"In Buzz, Thor Hanson reminds us that the apian community is
incredibly diverse...[He] expertly explores the history and ecology
of bees around the world."--New Scientist
"Lively and entertaining, Hanson's work introduces the world of
bees--all bees, not just honeybees...Of interest to farmers,
gardeners, ecologists, and anyone concerned about bees and their
impact on our food supply."--Library Journal
"Popular science at its intelligent best."--Economist
"This beautifully written natural history book, brought to us by a
graceful and talented author, packs surprise after surprise with
every turn of the page. Who knew bees were just evolved wasps? Or
that ancient Egyptians ferried bees up and down the Nile to
pollinate their crops? Don't pass this one up."--Wendy Williams,
author of TheHorse
"This book hums with the unique mixture of science, adventure,
intelligence, wonder, linguistic virtuosity, and great storytelling
we have come to expect from Thor Hanson's work. But it offers
something new and rare as well. Here we are drawn into a surprising
and enchanted world that is hidden in plain sight. All who read
Buzz will eat dinner, walk in the neighborhood, search the flowers,
and yes-listen to the drone of bees-with changed minds and hearts,
ones that are freshly attuned to our beautiful and essential
interconnection with the six-legged beings who share and co-create
our history, our mythology, our sustenance, our planet, and our
future."--Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Crow Planet and Mozart's
Starling
"This book is a joy. In it, Thor Hanson reminds us that the story
of bees is the story of the origin of societies, of sweetness and
collapse, of flowers and their sex, and if the humans who study all
of these things. It is a story of evolution and biodiversity, a
story that bears on much of the food we eat but also so very much
else. Buy it. Read it. Read it again. And when you do, you will
look out at the buzzing world anew." --Rob Dunn, author of Never
Home Alone and The Wild Life of Our Bodies
"This book is an accessible and engaging read; particularly
enjoyable are Hanson's descriptions of his own forays into the
world of bees."--Edible East Bay
"Thor Hanson is a gifted story teller and naturalist. In Buzz, he
takes us along on a wondrous, action-packed journey to discover the
secret lives of bees, flowers, and the unconventional men and women
who study them. This book really is the buzz about bees, and it's
destined to become a natural history classic."--Stephen Buchmann,
author of The Reason for Flowers
"Thor Hanson is a magician at making entomology and taxonomy
exciting, highlighting the fascinating world of bees. Buzz hums
with science and history, exposing how bees have shaped our world.
A delightful, buzzworthy must-read!"--Daniel Chamovitz, author of
Whata Plant Knows
"Timely...The core message of this charming book [is to] be
fascinated, and hopefully that will lead us to take action to
protect these marvelous and critically important insects."--Los
Angeles Review of Books
"Vividly zinging...[Hanson] zips and waggles through fascinating
journeys to meet fellow bee obsessives, reminding us that...we have
brought trouble upon ourselves: 40 percent of the bee species are
in decline threatened with extinction." --New York Times Book
Review
Winner of the 2019 Pacific Northwest Book Award
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