If the Covid 19 lockdown taught us anything, it taught us to be deeply appreciative of the natural world. While we have been unable to travel or return to normal, nature has provided a much needed respite, almost a cure in itself. Here Bierend explore the often overlooked and misunderstood world of fungus and its important place in our ecosystem

*This book was received as an Advanced Reader's copy from NetGalley.

Mushrooms are fascinating. They're delicious, dangerous, life-altering, and so many more things depending on what variety you come into contact with. As a child I remember happily searching through the wood for morels; a treat in the spring. Now, aside from what I can get in the grocery store I have to be content with what I find at local farmers market (I'm just not brave enough to eat the honey mushrooms out of my yard).

But enough about my fungi forays; let's talk about the book. Beirend pulls together a lot about fungi and the community that surrounds it in this book. In fact, as much as you'll learn about the various mushrooms and fungi in the book, you'll learn more about the people that make up the community. From sections on DNA sequences to sections on Intersectionality, it really does cover the makeup of mushrooms.

Some of the book is science heavy (as in genes, etc.) and other is social-science heavy (the advent of POC and LGBTQ groups coming together to celebrate a love of fungi). He explores the different festivals out there, and the innovations in science that are happening because of mushrooms (you might have heard of the oil eating one). While everyone is familiar with mushrooms, comparatively there is not a lot of study done around them when you look at the study that's been done on much of the other natural world.

What I was really taken with in this book, was the inclusion of all the different groups and 'radical' people taking an interest in mycology. Citizen Scientists are abundant, especially in this field, and that makes it really approachable. While I might not have understood all of the specific scientific terms in the DNA sequencing chapter, the book was still approachable because of all the other areas it touched on. But especially of the people and groups that drive this change and science forward.

Really interesting book; I used the note feature in my kindle for the first time while reading just because there was so much I wanted to remember later and explore.

Review by M. Reynard 2020

This was a strangely compelling read and I highly recommend it for anyone to add to their nonfiction November reading list! Who knew that mushrooms were so tasty and fascinating?!? Lean into learning about the politics and history of mushrooms and then get really meta and eat mushrooms whilst reading about them! All joking aside, this was a fascinating read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you for the advanced copy. I walk in a wood every morning with all different types of fungi and find them absolutely fascinating.
This book amazed me, I knew of different groups on the Internet but didn't have a clue as to how deep it went. I found myself thinking almost immediately can fungi be used to help change how fragile we have made the planet? Starvation being one example.

Well written, covered everything concerning the topic and more. This morning I didn't just see the fungi as different textures and shapes but look at the in a whole different way.

Highly recommended

I did not know there was so much political, mythological and historical content relating to mushrooms, not to mention the groups involved. A very comprehensive book, that gives an insight into all these things, and more besides.