Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to Mushrooms: North America (Peterson Field Guides)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This field guide is nearly twenty years old, but there are so few field guides to fungi that it still remains a standard reference. Like all Peterson field guides, it is handy and compact and can easily be taken into the field and pored over with the mushrooms in their wild habitat. The text is detailed and accurate and a "similar species" section is very useful. However, this guide uses painted plates whereas amateurs generally find it easier to identify fungi by photographs. I personally find photographs more accurate, but enjoy paintings in their own right. In this case the paintings are pleasing and quite faithful.

Although this guide should be on every mushroom enthusiast's shelves, a better beginners guide might be Roger Phillips' photographic book which has now appeared in a revised edition (on Amazon.com: ISBN 1554071151). Phillips provides 1000 photographs compared to this guide's 700 illustrations. However, Phillips is rather large to take into the field except in a backpack. Bear in mind that no fungus guide is comprehensive - each treats a selection of species - so it is wise to have a good selection in order to be in with a chance of correct identification.

So, until a compact photographic guide to fungi appears, this tried and tested Peterson guide will continue to fill a niche in the mushroom hunter's library.

I found this book to be well illustrated. And although not as comprehensive as i'd hoped, it is still the most complete guide I have found. Overall, I feel it is well above average--and I'm quite hard to please!

We own several different guides. Each has it's own strength. I recommend this as the first guide for those beginning to identify MR/Fungi. It covers most of the basic MR/Fungi family, but is not encylopedic as Arora's 'Mushrooms Demystified' attempts to be, nor does it have the number of color photographs that either the Falcon Guide 'North American Mushrooms' or Audubon's Field Guide. But it's one of the easiest to use beginning with 48 (mostly color) plates, then branching off into related species.

This Field Guide to Mushrooms is somewhat easy to understand, but requires the user to have basic knowledge of some characteristics of mushrooms. There could be mistakes in ID made. As with any mushroom guide, the user must pay strict attention, and be very careful. The print is very easy to read, and the pictures are extensive. I feel this would be a good book for the hunter who has some basic experience in the field.

The pictures in this guide are not quite as nice as in the audubon version but is still easy to use and a nice handy size for carrying in a pocket

While the descriptions in this book are helpful, the illustrations are inherently imprecise because they are non-photographic. The size of the book is good for taking into the field, but I'm put off by the old-school descriptions of mushrooms that have psychedelic/entheogenic properties. These important fungal allies are dismissed as "hallucinogenic" used by certain people for recreational purposes. Therefore they are labelled poisonous.

Overall, I found that I felt I couldn't trust the book to provide the kind of precision and accuracy that I need to be confident about my identifications. I would say use it as a secondary guide, or for an initial assessment of your fungal findings, but rely on more modern sources that also provide photographs.

i used this book so far only in the fall. it was really good and helped me identify several different types. most were poisonous. this can be expected in the area and season i searched. i look forward to searching more in the spring. a great fieldguide with color illustrations.

this is my 4th purchase of Fungi books and everyone of them have left much to be desired...this one is probably no.2 on the list as far as palatable though. 1. realize if you are trying to figure out wht fungi live in YOUR backyard/area yer already gonna be on a rather long frustrating journey unless you live in a select area.. (i.e. where the Author lives...).
as far as outline/overlay its decent but as always these books rarely cover enough fungi nor do ther pics tend to reflect actual fungi (at least here in southeast texas..) but then again i live in fungi hell (aka more fungi than you could truly imagine..). Im still in search of a more definitive text that you can feel relatively sure that "if" you follow the guidelines/pics/desriptions laid down you can eat without reading over your current life insurance/last will n testament...
Doc

For their time Water Color guides are wonderful. I have many of the Peterson guides and have used them in the field to find and locate what I've been looking for. It wouldn't be right to have a mushroom library without owning this one but as a "stand alone" this should not be your first choice. Mushrooms are beautiful, mysterious, and extremely deadly if you eat the wrong one. "Artistic" is not accurate enough for identification. The facts and comment section is fair enough to aid you in cross reference with other books. So buy this book or put it on your wish list but go ahead and get the more expensive reference book while you're ordering and go for the free shipping.

This is the best go to reference book for collecting edible mushrooms. The color drawing can impart much more info than photos. Clearly describes what to look for and what to look out for.