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

Award-winning journalist Hannah Nordhaus tells the remarkable story of John Miller, one of America’s foremost migratory beekeepers, and the myriad and mysterious epidemics threatening American honeybee populations. In luminous, razor-sharp prose, Nordhaus explores the vital role that honeybees play in American agribusiness, the maintenance of our food chain, and the very future of the nation. With an intimate focus and incisive reporting, in a book perfect for fans of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire,and John McPhee’s Oranges, Nordhaus’s stunning exposé illuminates one the most critical issues facing the world today,offering insight, information, and, ultimately, hope.

Why are America’s honey bees vanishing—and what does the answer reveal about our food supply?

• Migratory Beekeeping: Follow veteran beekeeper John Miller as he crisscrosses the country, from California's almond orchards to the clover fields of North Dakota, in a race to keep his half-a-billion bees alive.
• The Varroa Mite: Discover the devastating impact of a tiny, bloodred parasite that has become one of the greatest threats to honey bees and the focus of a desperate scientific battle.
• Almond Pollination: Go inside the largest managed pollination event on Earth, where the survival of California's multi-billion-dollar almond industry depends entirely on the health of millions of visiting bees.
• Environmental Science: An unflinching look at the interconnected pressures—from pesticides to habitat loss—that have pushed a critical species to the brink, and what it means for our future.
• A Family Business: Experience the story of a four-generation beekeeping family, a true American dynasty fighting to adapt its legacy to a world that is increasingly hostile to the bees they love.