19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable romp in the fungal kingdom, October 12, 2011
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In
Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms noted food writer Eugenia Bones takes us along on her personal voyage of discovery in the mushroom realm and it's (mostly undergound) parent the fungal kingdom.
An unusual book, Mycophilia is a journal peppered with scientific information, folklore, gardening tips and the occasional bad pun, providing us with a window into the world of mushrooms and the cast of characters who hunt, cook, document, experiment, dye (and much more) with them. As I read I could not help but wonder at how little attention we collectively pay to an organism (neither plant nor animal) which makes up 25% of the planet's biomass, is among the earliest life forms and which is intricately intertwined with so many aspects of our existence. As she was instructed prior to embarking on a mushroom hunt (foray), one only need to stop and look.
It is a very well written and enjoyable read. Along the way I learned a great deal more than I had anticipated, not least of which is how little I have learned about this large and varied kingdom in 20+ years of science education. I was surprised to find that fewer than 5% of the species have been identified, described scientifically, and yet how many uses have been discovered and described for mushrooms. I found myself spouting mushroom facts at the dinner table which in turn has gotten my son more interested in science : I believe the things which grabbed his attentiu0on were: that there is a mushroom which tastes like maple syrup "let's grow them," and that if all of the spores from one of the more prolific species were to bloom at once, it would throw the planet out of orbit). I now know why the tomatoes in my carefully prepared raised bed are not doing as well as those in other parts of my garden (and also that I have to learn a good deal more to make use of that information). There is so much information here that I think she provides a touchstone for just about everyone; an entry intro the partially hidden parallel universe of fungus.
I so thoroughly enjoyed the book that I have gone looking for more books on mushrooms (there are quite a few) and more books by Eugenia Bones. It seems we share a passion for Italian cooking. I may well become a collector.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK. Could have been so much better., November 18, 2011
"Mycophilia" is part narrative and gossip, and part hard information, and altogether rather repetitious.
It defines many terms that are pretty obvious, and fails to define many technical terms that fall beyond the scope of my dictionaries. This book desperately needs a glossary.
The greatest flaw is the lack of meaningful illustrations in color. I appreciate that this is not meant to be a field guide to the mushrooms of North America, but the book's pictures are small, murky black-and-whites printed on the page stock, and a number of the pictures were, to my eye, simply incomprehensible.
Perhaps the idea was to hold down production costs, but in doing so, the result is unsatisfactory.
So the book is just OK, when it could have been superb.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eclectic, lively jaunt through the world of mushrooms, September 28, 2011
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Mycophilia is a hard-to-categorize blend of popular science, memoir, and travelogue, but here's what I think it really is: the story of one woman's love affair with all things mushroomy. And while I was expecting something maybe a little more focused and less gregarious, I enjoyed plunging into the strange world of mushrooms and mushroomers.
Just to be clear, Mycophilia is not a mushroom guide. It won't tell you how to avoid the poisonous ones or identify the edible ones. There are no recipes or color photos, and the grainy black and white photos that are there rarely add much. Instead, Eugenia Bone's growing interest in mycology and travels to different conferences, festivals, and farms form the basis of interesting, if eclectic, chapters that cover truffles, psychedelics, pro mushroom hunting, medicinal mushrooms, and even mushrooms as potential environmental heroes. The chapters stand well on their own and can be read out of order. (If anything, they can be just a little repetitive as several people are introduced more than once.) Read together, however, they drive in Bone's point that mushrooms are in, on, or affecting just about everything on this planet.
Accessible but not dumbed down, Mycophilia is perfect for the factoid-loving layperson. Although I have several books on mushrooms, Bone has an eye for quirky and fascinating facts that few others mention: the fungal parasites that turn their caterpillar and ant hosts into zombies and eventually fruit through their bodies, the truth about truffle oil, the fungus growing within Chernobyl, the possible link between fossil fuels and mushrooms.
Bone is a lively and slightly snarky narrator who isn't afraid to experiment on herself, often with entertaining results, as she attempts to grow oyster mushrooms, gather her first morels, trip out on shrooms, lose weight on the mushroom diet, and have a serious conversation with a renowned mycologist while both are in the hot springs, completely naked. There are a few stories that toe the TMI line, but overall, the book achieves a sprightly balance between memoir and fact.
Mycophilia is an enjoyable read that offers plenty of breadth, if not so much depth. I'm happy to add it to my other mushroom books, which include Greg Marley's more sober
Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms, which identifies the four types of edible mushrooms that are hard to confuse with others, Gary Lincoff's
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides), and David Arora's quirky
Mushrooms Demystified. Readers who already own several mushroom books will enjoy getting to 'meet' the authors in Mycophilia, as Eugenia Bone rubs shoulders with quite a few prominent mycologists over the course of the book. And if you're not already fascinated with mushrooms, Mycophilia's not a bad place to start cultivating a lifelong romance of your own.
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