Overview

Mushrooms are loved, despised, feared, and misunderstood. They havebeen a familiar part of nature throughout human history and occupy a specialplace in our consciousness. Nicholas P. Money introduces the mythologyand science of the spectacular array of fungi that produce mushrooms, thehistory of our interactions with these curious and beautiful organisms, and theways that humans use mushrooms as food, medicine, and recreational drugs. Mushrooms are not self-contained organisms like worms or beetles.They are fruit bodies, or reproductive organs, produced by fungi whosefeeding colonies, or mycelia, are hidden in soil or rotting wood. Thesecolonies support life on land by decomposing plant and animal debris,fertilising soils, and sustaining plant growth through partnerships calledmycorrhizas. Some of the fungi that produce mushrooms cause diseasesof trees and shrubs, and the airborne spores of others are a major cause ofasthma and hay fever. Mushrooms release so many spores into the atmospherethat they may affect local weather conditions and promote rainfall.Poisonous mushrooms were described by classical writers and ediblespecies were important in Roman cuisine.  Mushrooms became the objectsof scientific study in the seventeenth century.  Pioneers of mushroom science have included paragons of eccentricity and their remarkable stories are celebrated in this book.

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9781780237435

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Reviews

This book is simply amazing! It's a great read, and absolutely bursting--like an over-ripe puff-ball--with a marvelous mix of mushroom information. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Botany One With his characteristically smart and sassy wit, Money guides us through the science of fungi but also tackles cultural themes less often explored by mycologists, including the contentious terrains of psychedelic fungi, their simmering histories of superstition, and the dubious undercurrents of the medicinal mushroom industry. Money delights in debunking fungal myths and misunderstandings. . . . Informative, entertaining, and at times provocative, Mushrooms combines science, cultural histories, and personal anecdotes in an inviting introduction for the novice venturing into fungal realms. --Alison Pouliot Australian Garden History

A fascinating tour around the weird world of mushrooms and of the people who study them. As a botanist I learned a lot about the natural world from the different perspective of these familiar yet obscure organisms. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Roland Ennos, University of Hull A well written, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated account of mushroom life and lore, leavened with humor. An ideal introduction to the most beautiful members of nature's least understood kingdom. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Richard Fortey FRS, author of Life: An Unauthorised Biography An excellent introductory textbook for a budding mycologist, or an attractive gift for a mushroom enthusiast. The book is superbly and colorfully illustrated, with many useful diagrams spread over sixteen chapters including mushroom superstition, evolution, ecology, poisons, and conservation. -- Oxveg News I found it an easy read and devoured it in a single day. This will make a great present for the general naturalist as well as a diverting read for a long flight for the mycologist--especially at such a reasonable price for a hardback book today! --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University IMA Fungus (Journal of the International Mycological Association) Money tells a riveting tale, based in fact, fiction, folkloric, and science to present a delightful introduction to a . . . very little understood aspect of Mother Nature. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Blue Wolf Reviews This book is simply amazing! It's a great read, and absolutely bursting--like an over-ripe puff-ball--with a marvelous mix of mushroom information. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Botany One With his characteristically smart and sassy wit, Money guides us through the science of fungi but also tackles cultural themes less often explored by mycologists, including the contentious terrains of psychedelic fungi, their simmering histories of superstition, and the dubious undercurrents of the medicinal mushroom industry. Money delights in debunking fungal myths and misunderstandings. . . . Informative, entertaining, and at times provocative, Mushrooms combines science, cultural histories, and personal anecdotes in an inviting introduction for the novice venturing into fungal realms. --Alison Pouliot Australian Garden History Queer things, these mushrooms. The people who study them--mycologists--can be pretty interesting too. One used to walk to work wearing horse blinkers to preserve his eyes for his experiments on bioluminescent mushrooms. Another tested the edibility of every mushroom in his book, One Thousand American Fungi. 'As paragons of eccentricity, these individuals are peerless, ' writes Money, a US professor of botany, who has produced a fascinating read. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Organic Gardener (Australia) Money has done it again! Mushrooms is a masterful overview of mycology, written with clarity, wit, and affection. There simply is no better review of the subject out there. Mycophiles and gardeners--really, anyone who seeks to understand nature in a deeper way--will appreciate this excellent book. I know I do. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia: Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms Addressed to nature enthusiasts, Mushrooms is a perfect introduction to the kingdom of fungi. Each of the sixteen chapters is dedicated to a theme, ranging from Mushroom Science to Mushroom Superstition. Did you know that there is an Einstein of mycology? His name is A.H. Reginald Buller and his Researches on Fungi is considered the bible of mycology. Or that the largest organism in the world is a tangled web of hyphae that radiates for over 10 square km through a conifer forest in Oregon? Mushrooms addresses these questions and many more. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem and recommend it to anyone interested in the world of mushrooms. --Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Economic Botany

Author Information

Nicholas P. Money is Professor of Botany and Western Program Director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of eight books, including Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard: The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists (2002) and The Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the Microbes (2014).

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