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In Search of Honey
After being seriously injured in a hit and run, Piers Moore Ede went to work and recuperate on an organic farm in Italy. There he met a beekeeper, Gunter, who showed him, for the first time, the wonders and magic of the beehive. Battling depression and afraid to face the future, Piers finds a renewed sense of purpose through his work with the bees. Up close amongst the highly organised life of a hive, he realises that somehow honey might be the salve that can help him. Back in England Piers, still only in his mid twenties, decides upon a quest to seek the most wondrous honeys in the world. From the terracotta bee jars of the Lebanon to the clay cylinders of Syria, slowly his personal tribulations dwindle into perspective against the backdrop of the fast-shrinking traditions of the honey-farmers. Hunting wild honey from cliffs with Gurung tribesman in Nepal, and in vast jungle trees with Veddah tribesmen in Sri Lanka, Piers draws close to the very origins of life. But honey itself is the real luminary of Honey and Dust - honey, the wonderful invigorating golden manna that Virgil believed was of divine origin. Honey and Dust is about the world's oldest and purest food. But it also a personal quest of healing, an attempt to regain a sense of place in the world. Meditative, and keenly observant, it is a book about the joy of being alive, and of the regenerative powers of wild nature.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 7, 2025
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית ואנגלית, קישור לבלוג שלי -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/hone...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/hone...
February 28, 2009
A compelling book by a young man who after a very serious accident reclaims his life through a quest for honey that takes him to fascinating places to meet extremely interesting people that he describes with compelling sensitivity. The fascinating history of honey is imparted as well as an insightful travel journal of Italy, Lebanon, Syria, Nepal,Sri Lanka and the human spirit. I hope he continues to travel and write many more books.
October 17, 2011
I bounced back and forth between liking and disliking this book. There were a lot of great aspects in it, and bees are always fascinating (and honey delicious) so I really liked when the book centered around those topics. But the travel part and the author's personal narrative were not as compelling to me.
After being hit by a truck, Piers Moore Ede decides while recuperating that he would like to write a book about bees and honey, most specifically the honey trail through the world. It will be a challenge because he is not a bee keeper himself, but he's always loved honey and wanted to know more about the different varieties. He travels mostly in the middle east, Lebanon, Syria, India, Nepal, and other places. Each place his main goal is to learn the original ways of keeping bees and about the wild bees and the way their honey was gathered. Sadly, because this is the Middle East during a war time and because of the multiple diseases bees face everywhere, he finds the old ways dying out and the bees dying out. Still, he learns a lot about bee culture and tastes some pretty unique varieties. He also goes into a description of some baklava that makes my mouth water as well.
Piers does really connect with the people he visits well. They respond to his genuine interest in all things honey, and also the questions about their culture. The veiled insults towards America and the president at the time probably help him as well. The people he meets were all rather interesting. Totally different from one another, they still have one thing in common, bees.
So with all this wonderful information about honey and the old ways of collecting it, whats wrong with this book? Well, he travels all over and quite a bit of the story is devoted to his accident and recuperation and it actually takes a big portion of the book. He also has a description of a 10 day silent yoga retreat that was somewhat out of place as well. So honestly this would probably be more of a memoir, I just couldn't seem to get into that part. But when he talks about food and honey and the things made with it, that's where he shines. I really enjoyed those descriptions and he made me see the way the honey was gathered extremely well. I also wish there would have been more pictures of his travels aside from just the one on the cover. It would have been interesting.
Not a bad book, but not what I was expecting either. I was really looking forward to being doused in honey. And it really only shared a spotlight with everything else.
Honey and Dust
Copyright 2005
290 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com
After being hit by a truck, Piers Moore Ede decides while recuperating that he would like to write a book about bees and honey, most specifically the honey trail through the world. It will be a challenge because he is not a bee keeper himself, but he's always loved honey and wanted to know more about the different varieties. He travels mostly in the middle east, Lebanon, Syria, India, Nepal, and other places. Each place his main goal is to learn the original ways of keeping bees and about the wild bees and the way their honey was gathered. Sadly, because this is the Middle East during a war time and because of the multiple diseases bees face everywhere, he finds the old ways dying out and the bees dying out. Still, he learns a lot about bee culture and tastes some pretty unique varieties. He also goes into a description of some baklava that makes my mouth water as well.
Piers does really connect with the people he visits well. They respond to his genuine interest in all things honey, and also the questions about their culture. The veiled insults towards America and the president at the time probably help him as well. The people he meets were all rather interesting. Totally different from one another, they still have one thing in common, bees.
So with all this wonderful information about honey and the old ways of collecting it, whats wrong with this book? Well, he travels all over and quite a bit of the story is devoted to his accident and recuperation and it actually takes a big portion of the book. He also has a description of a 10 day silent yoga retreat that was somewhat out of place as well. So honestly this would probably be more of a memoir, I just couldn't seem to get into that part. But when he talks about food and honey and the things made with it, that's where he shines. I really enjoyed those descriptions and he made me see the way the honey was gathered extremely well. I also wish there would have been more pictures of his travels aside from just the one on the cover. It would have been interesting.
Not a bad book, but not what I was expecting either. I was really looking forward to being doused in honey. And it really only shared a spotlight with everything else.
Honey and Dust
Copyright 2005
290 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com
January 23, 2020
Interesting - glad I read it but there were fewer bees, fewer beekeepers and less honey than I was expecting. I felt strangely disconnected from the beekeepers that he met - I've never met a beekeeper yet who was not ready to talk until kingdom come about beekeeping and bees. And I wasn't really interested in the wild bee hunting that fascinated the author. Or the meditation.
August 5, 2017
I've popped this book to rejected. Sadly I just couldn't finish it. Would actually like to remove it from my active lists but wanted to "keep it" so I wasn't tempted again if that makes sense?
June 8, 2018
Hands down, the most spellbinding travelogue no one has ever heard of. Allow yourself to get entranced in this incredible healing journey the author takes following a trail of honey (and dust)
October 22, 2025
a very readable book: a memoire cum travelogue cum reference on bees and honey
January 24, 2016
In his early 20s, in love with life and his new girlfriend, Ede is cycling to work when he is hit by a truck. After nearly dying and enduring many rounds of surgery to reconstruct his shattered face and body, Ede gradually returns to physical health but a crushing depression saps him of the will to live. He decides a re-connection to nature and hard physical work might help and volunteers to be a farm worker in Italy. Arriving at a small farm in Tuscany, he falls in love with bees and begins to learn all he can about the ancient history of beekeeping. This sends him on several investigative trips where he learns about the endangered art of hunting wild honey, the growing art of urban bee keeping and the healing powers of nature.
The memoir starts out well. Ede's accident and subsequent depression are heart-rending and his search for something to heal his wounded spirit is quite engaging. However, while he talks a lot about his love of nature, he actually spends a lot of travel time in large cities, and when in the wilderness, seems uncomfortable and nervous. This, plus the disjointed ending which is about attending a silent meditation retreat, makes for a slightly unsatisfying read
The memoir starts out well. Ede's accident and subsequent depression are heart-rending and his search for something to heal his wounded spirit is quite engaging. However, while he talks a lot about his love of nature, he actually spends a lot of travel time in large cities, and when in the wilderness, seems uncomfortable and nervous. This, plus the disjointed ending which is about attending a silent meditation retreat, makes for a slightly unsatisfying read
February 4, 2013
If I had read this book first I would never have read the other one of his which I really enjoyed. Maybe because the writer was so young when he wrote this but I just found it self indulgent and even slightly exploitative of the countries he was in. Once again I was made very aware that the world that we live in is still very much a mans world - a woman would not have the opportunity or freedom to make the trip the author did. Finally apart from giving a broad introduction to the life of bees it was not really informative in that area either.
May 17, 2013
Look if you told me I should read a book on bee keeping I would find 10 other books to read instead, but the subtitle of this book reads Travels in search of Sweetness. So off course when I see the word Travel I grab it and the cover picture certainly helped to convince me. I am rivited. Again a book I have to sit up and read because I am constantly making notes in my notebook. Beautifully written by a person who is senstive to the sensual surroundings in which he moves. I am nearly convinced to become an apiculturist myself.
September 16, 2012
While occasionally I did feel a need for more information this is a gentle story of a love affair with honey and the search for the ultimate honey. While searching Ede also finds a path to recovery from a serious hit and run accident that takes his carefree sense of youth.
It's interesting and I would like to try the different honey that he tries. Even if only once. Much of the story is quite gentle and there's a sense of wonder that never leaves.
It's interesting and I would like to try the different honey that he tries. Even if only once. Much of the story is quite gentle and there's a sense of wonder that never leaves.
August 20, 2016
Absolutely fantastic read. It's descriptions of nature, travel, and foods are fulfilling on a spiritual level. I will definitely keep this on my bookshelf.
My only small criticism is that this almost reads like a fantasy. It's very clear that his journey was only achievable because he's a man. There's no way this could have happened if he were a woman. The sexism is ever-present, yet nonchalantly understated in almost every culture he visits. That being said, I still found it very enjoyable.
My only small criticism is that this almost reads like a fantasy. It's very clear that his journey was only achievable because he's a man. There's no way this could have happened if he were a woman. The sexism is ever-present, yet nonchalantly understated in almost every culture he visits. That being said, I still found it very enjoyable.
June 20, 2010
I found this book fascinating for its author's persistent search for the honey collectors' customs of the past. He got himself into the most out of the way spots where life hadn't changed for millenia.
August 9, 2008
Refreshing read, loads of interesting facts about honey and lots of different places on the honey trail!
December 8, 2016
A pleasant read. it is a personal travel and healing diary converted to a story. The documentary parts read as school essays at times.
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April 15, 2017I have been interested in beekeeping for a while and this book really confirmed this interest, but this is not really all it is about. The author tells of his travels, mostly middle eastern countries in search of the old style of beekeeping and its honey. He is in search of healing after a serious hit and run accident that left his scarred and in a deep depression; what better way than to do it through honey which has been known for its properties of healing and magnificence. I loved his style of writing, interesting food he came across, different cultures he experienced and the honey hunts.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews