The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America

“A rollicking, buzzing, and touching meditation on mortality. . . . You’ll never think of bees, their keeper, or the fruits (and nuts) of their labors the same way again.” —Trevor Corson, author of The Secret Life of Lobsters and The Story of Sushi

The honey bee is a willing conscript, a working wonder, an unseen and crucial link in America’s agricultural industry. But never before has its survival been so unclear—and the future of our food supply so acutely challenged.

Enter beekeeper John Miller, who trucks his hives around the country, bringing millions of bees to farmers otherwise bereft of natural pollinators. Even as the mysterious and deadly epidemic known as Colony Collapse Disorder devastates bee populations across the globe, Miller forges ahead with the determination and wry humor of a true homespun hero. The Beekeeper’s Lament tells his story and that of his bees, making for a complex, moving, and unforgettable portrait of man in the new natural world.

“I loved The Beekeeper’s Lament. With great reporting and great writing, Hannah Nordhaus gives a new angle on an ever-evolving topic. You’ll learn a lot.” —Bernd Heinrich, author of Winter World and Mind of the Raven

“An engaging account of the men and insects who put food on our tables. The Beekeeper’s Lament is a sweet, sad story.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe