Heirs of Dersu. Book 1: The Apiary

A journey through the Ussuri taiga. The main hero fulfilled his dream of working as a forester in Primorye—where Arsenyev and Dersu once traveled. Vivid pictures of the taiga, encounters with taiga dwellers, beekeepers, Old Believers, a tiger on the trail, brown and Himalayan bears, with sika deer, kharzа (harza), badgers; finding ginseng; collecting cedar cones; planting cedar seedlings; putting out fires. In short, taiga life. “The Apiary” is also the hero’s reflection on how to preserve the forest riches, whether people of the planet can build a similarly wise community—one that bees have been building for five million years—why the worker bee lives for a month and the rest of the year for half a year in winter, and why the queen lives for five years. What is the secret of longevity? Will nature reveal its secrets to humans? Are humans worthy of them? For all readers who care about nature, this book will be the best gift.