Thomas William Cowan was head of the beekeeping establishment in Britain for the first fifty years of its existence, and had a substantial influence on the manner in which honey bees are domestically kept today. In this volume Bob Hawker attempts to uncover the real T.W. Cowan by tracing his life through his education, family life, business interests, travels, conflicts, writings, inventions and bee-keeping, The result is often surprising and sometimes not pleasing.