Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and The Coming Agricultural Crisis

One-third of American food crops are pollinated by honey bees: apples, almonds, cherries, peaches, and plums, to name a few. We are wholly dependent on our partnership with bees, but most people know very little about how they contribute to the larger world of commercial agriculture. Late last year, however, the honey bee made national headlines: nearly one-third of the population, 30 billion bees, mysteriously died from what they're calling 'colony collapse disorder.'

In Fruitless Fall, Rowan Jacobsen chronicles the developing crisis that began in 2006 as beekeepers, scientists, and government officials discovered they had an emergency on their hands. He explores the mystery of CCD and follows researchers as they race to find a solution before winter when the rest of the northern hemisphere's honeybees risk dying. Fruitless Fall further examines our dependence on honey bees and how our exploitation of this work force may lead not only to their ruin but may have already irrevocably damaged our relationship with the environment.