Whole heartedly agree with Sims'. There's a true wealth of information in that book. I'd take it any day over Hooper and a multitude of other DIY manuals. I'll say the same for Manley -while making the point that it's possibly not too good for an absolute beginner because it is, in many parts, very dated; there's stuff in there that just isn't correct according to research and/or modern thinking but it's easy for someone with a good grounding today to read around those parts without any problem. My own 'Manley preference' is actually Beekeeping in Britain. Another great book from the master. A side note here, John Rawson in his World of a Beefarmer reprinted a letter he received from Manley in the early 60's where there's a good outline of the recent honey harvests they were achieving. All I can say is that they must have previously built a good financial base to have survived those years without selling the family silver.

Atkinson's Background to Beebreeding is indeed a true classic, I find some of his writing style quite hard going in places but he gives just so much information. It's a book which most people won't buy because of the price tag, their loss. I made a comment which was aimed directly at another beekeeper some time ago about her reluctance to pay £7 or £8 postage on a book from the US. She actually thought that 'typical beekeeper' was a honour, whereas in the specific context of the conversation it was anything but..... My take on this is that too many people refuse to invest in quality books.