Book Review: A Spring Without Bees, by Michael Schacker

IP is over the quota
IP is over the quota

In recent years honey bees have been dying off at an alarming rate. In the United States, bee keepers claim the increase in this annual die off rate to be 30 per cent. The phenomenon has been wide spread also in Europe, especially France, where research is most thorough into possible reasons why. For some reason or other, countries like Australia and New Zealand have not experienced this problem.

The strange disappearance of the bees has been labelled Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD (I know, another acronym to keep up with.) Bee colonies usually have some annual die off. Their numbers are typically killed off by disease and mites (the varroa mite, for example, which attaches itself to the abdomen of the bee and infects the bee with various diseases). Making the problem even more perilous for the bees is the fact that they have a low immunity, making them doubly vulnerable.

When bees die in this manner, they usually expire at the front of the hive, leaving a pile of bee corpses. With Colony Collapse Disorder, the result is different. Very few dead bodies are found at the front of the hive, and no adult bees are found within the hive. Unhatched broods are still found in the hives, and honey is still left behind. Adding to the strangeness of the scene, it takes weeks before predators like wax moths and hive beetles move in to start looting the abandoned honey. Typically these predators are quick to start eating the free honey. If these hungry predators were holding off, then this was a sure sign that something was wrong with the honey itself. The bees surely must have been sick.

Is Imidacloprid, Commonly Known as IMD, to Blame?

Enter the French beekeepers, who since 1994 have noticed that there has been a problem. After much science and research, the French started to point the finger at the insecticide IMD (imidacloprid), which is widely used in the US. Once the French called for a ban and restrictions on the use of IMD, they found that, after a few years (it takes time for the IMD to be flushed out of the ecosystem), the bees returned. Interestingly, Australia and New Zealand, the two countries that did not experience CCD, have stringent rules when it comes to the use of IMD. (Also of note, organic bees did not suffer CCD).

The studies found that even minuscule amounts of IMD (a few parts per billion), could disrupt the nervous system of the bees, making them unable to forage and basically think and act as bees should. Here is the Schacker on the subject:

"The French researchers got all the way down to less than one part per billion with their detector, and found that as little as a few parts per billion in the nectar or feed syrup could make the honey bee groggy, impairing the bee's short-term memory in smell and theoretically blocking normal foraging."

As mentioned above, IMD is used widely in the US, even extensively on suburban lawns and golf courses (the book cites alarming studies showing high cancer rates for golf course attendants).

Weaknesses in the Second Part of A Spring Without Bees

The second part of A Spring Without Bees turns into the usual call to arms, giving action plans and ways to help get rid of IMD on a personal level. Michael Schacker takes as certain that IMD is the culprit for Colony Collapse Disorder, yet the science on the subject, as described in the book, does not strike me as conclusive. This seems to be a major fault with the book: Schacker jumps too quickly to the conclusion that IMD is the culprit. While the research on IMD is certainly persuasive, it's not really conclusive. More work needs to be done.

Any argument against excessive use of chemicals and toxins in our environment is a no-brainer, yet this shouldn't be wound up with an argument stating that IMD is certainly the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder. We need to know the truth.

For the novice reader on all things bees, the book also could have been made more interesting by including a more detailed history of the bee and their ecological role. A Spring Without Bees offered lots of fascinating snippets of bee facts that could have happily been expanded upon.

As it stands, A Spring Without Bees works like a fascinating detective story that reaches its conclusions too soon.

A Spring Without Bees: How Colony Collapse Disorder Has Endangered Our Food Supply, by Michael Schacker. Foreword by Bill McKibben. Published by The Lyons Press. ISBN: 978-1-59921-432-0

Chris Saliba is a book reviewer from Melbourne, Australia.

More of his book reviews can be read at: http://chrissalibabookreviews.blogspot.com/

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean - A Review

IP is over the quota
IP is over the quota

Lee Duncan, a corporal in the trenches of World War I France, rescued a military German shepherd and her pups during an artillery attack. Duncan, an orphan, "immediately bonded" with a pup he named Rin Tin Tin. He knew somehow that the dog would become immortal. Ninety years later, the legacy of Rin Tin Tin is still alive in the hearts of Americans.

"He was born in 1918 and he never died." The dog that was to become a hero, an ideal, a companion and a caretaker also became a celebrity. Lee wrote a screenplay about the intimacy between a man and his dog, starring Rin Tin Tin. The dog became a favorite in Hollywood's silent movies. He rode a steeplechase horse, dove off a thirty-foot pier, and drove aquaplanes. His successors starred in movies though the years. A 1950s television show about the dog and an orphaned boy adopted by a cavalry troop during the Apache wars hit the charts. Rin Tin Tin IV starred. No matter what the format, Rinty bounded across the screen to save the day.

Although rescued in World War I, Rinty became the "spokesdog" for the United States Army in World War II. Seen as a symbol of bravery, intelligence and toughness, he encouraged many families to donate their pets to the military. His legacy would have died without the dedication of Lee Duncan, Herbert "Bert" Leonard, Daphne Herford and other owners of Rin Tin Tin descendants.

Much of the book details Lee Duncan's early years. His mother left him in an orphanage when he was six. He always felt alone and the only balm to his loneliness was his friend and companion, Rin Tin Tin. Never forgetting his early difficulties, an orphanage was always the first stop when Lee and Rinty did publicity tours.

Susan Orlean, author of New York Times bestseller, The Orchid Thief, says that her initial impetus to write Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend was her love of animals. She feels that Rin Tin Tin has character and because of that his fame has lasted through decades. Orlean spent ten years writing the book and researching in France, Texas and California. She scoured Duncan's records and interviewed people who owned Rinty dogs, obviously relishing the entire process. "I loved the unfurling narrative of Rin Tin Tin because it contained so many stories...as well as the pure, half-magical devotion an animal can have to a person."

The book is impeccably researched and full of details of Hollywood, television and American life. Lee's war experience, the rescue of Rin Tin Tin, and the parts he played in movies are the most compelling sections of the book. It was fascinating to read about the 16 million animals deployed in World War I as scouts, messengers, carriers of medical supplies, and sentries. The insertion of the author's personal reflections detracted from the more compelling story, but is a minor flaw in an otherwise extraordinary book.

The book releases September 27th in hardback, eBook and audio formats. Kudos to Marilyn Dantes who captured Rin Tin Tin's essence on the book's cover. The book's text is large enough for those who watched the 1950s TV show. The texture on the book jacket is a pleasure to feel. It is slightly sticky, but it is the story within that will stick with you long after you've finished the read.

Rin Tin Tin and his lineage, heroes through decades of history, are the stars of this story of canine courage and devotion.

Simon and Schuster graciously supplied the review copy for my unbiased opinion.

Article originally published by Holly Weiss on http://www.blogcritics.org/.

Holly Weiss is the author of a historical fiction novel, Crestmont, writer and reviewer of newly-released books. http://www.hollyweiss.com/.

Free reprint of article if entire bio is intact.

Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch

IP is over the quota
IP is over the quota

Okay, I'll admit, I've read a number of novels where the hero enjoys sipping on a single malt scotch and I'm not entirely sure the differences, so I couldn't tell you if he was sipping on a good one or not. I also have friends who talk about various scotches and I can't contribute much to the conversations. Sure, I've enjoyed scotch now and then, and will again, but I really can't say I know that much.

However, that is where "Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch: A Connoisseur's Guide to the Single Malt Whiskies of Scotland" comes in. This fully revised sixth edition, updated by Dominic Roskrow, Gavin D. Smith, and William C. Meyers, and published by DK, covers just about anything you would want to know about malts. It's not a book to read cover to cover, unless you are really into scotch and enjoy reading reviews and tasting notes on over 1,000 malt whiskies, with vintages from 1926 onward, including reviews of over 500 new bottlings. I spotted it on the library shelf and had to pick it up and give it a read.

The book begins with a few pages on the late Michael Jackson of the whisky industry, not music fame. Then it proceeds with an instant guide to the pleasures of the pursuit of malts. Just a few pages, but it will help you understand why malts are so popular, and why many heroes in books and movies refer to these beverages. Next come chapters on the origins of malt whisky, the words used on the label, flavors, regional variations, the age, the wood, and finally the owners, distillers, and bottlers. These are all very short chapters, with photographs that take up the first 71 pages of the book. You can read these pretty easily and know more about malt whisky than most people. The rest of the book, which is nearly 450 pages long, is an A to Z directory of single malts.

In these pages, you can find information on just about any single malt you can think of. This expanded edition includes chapters on world whiskies, including malts from Ireland, Japan, and newer producers in Sweden and Australia. One of the first entries I turned to was the chapter on Laphroaig, a favorite brand of a few of my friends. Sure, I've shared toasts with it with those friends, but I now know a bit more about what I was drinking. So, if you have any questions regarding single malt whiskies, check out this book and you'll find your answers.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a writer, speaker, and mediator who teaches how to live, take action, and get things done through the Warrior's Edge. He is an expert on conflict and mediates and teaches conflict resolution and negotiation. Additionally, he teaches physical conflict skills in his Hapkido and Self-Defense courses, lectures, and seminars. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking series, and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles and reviews and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com/ and http://www.yourwarriorsedge.com/