Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms [Hardcover]

Eugenia Bone (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 25, 2011

An incredibly versatile cooking ingredient containing an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and possibly
cancer-fighting properties, mushrooms are among the most expensive and sought-after foods on the
planet. Yet when it comes to fungi, culinary uses are only the tip of the iceberg. Throughout history fungus has been prized for its diverse properties—medicinal, ecological, even recreational—and has
spawned its own quirky subculture dedicated to exploring the weird biology and celebrating the unique role it plays on earth. In Mycophilia, accomplished food writer and cookbook author Eugenia Bone examines the role of fungi as exotic delicacy, curative, poison, and hallucinogen, and ultimately discovers that a greater understanding of fungi is key to facing many challenges of the 21st century.

 

Engrossing, surprising, and packed with up-to-date science and cultural exploration, Mycophilia is part narrative and part primer for foodies, science buffs, environmental advocates, and anyone interested in learning a lot about one of the least understood and most curious organisms in nature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mycophilia is the most engrossing, readable book about mushrooms and the science of mycology I have ever read. This is THE book to give to people interested in mushrooms, whether they are beginners, longtime mushroom hunters, or professional mycologists."

—Gary Lincoff, author of The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms

"Engaging trawl through the labryinths of mycophilia...lyrical and precise...Ms. Bone ends her odyssey elegantly, discovering mushrooms may be the most important--and most hopeful--ingredient of life on Earth."

—Wall Street Journal

 

"One of the most beguiling books I've read this year. A generous sprinkling of amateur photos only adds to the charm of "Mycophilia"...Weird details,combined with a flair for startling analogies, brighten even the most rambling passages of Bone's book...Set her on the hunt for fungi in the aftermath of a forest fire and Bone can make you shiver in the slovenly vacuum of a campsite she compres to a cold fireplace...Bone deployes the precise, uncommon vocabulary of the best naturalists. Bone's enthusiasm would prompt even the most languid armchair ecologist to take a new interest in...mushrooms...Each and every fungus contains properties that, as described by Bone, sound almost magical...Delicious, surprising and dizzyingly informative book."

 

—New York Times Book Review

 

"Earthy and honest...with good humor and clear writing."

—The Denver Post

 

"Mycophilia...will delight many readers...[Bone] makes a charming and witty tour guide through the vast world of fungi...Mycophilia is one of those books that can completely change the way we view the Earth, making us ever more conscious and even conscientious citizens."

—The Plain Dealer

About the Author

EUGENIA BONE is an author and a food writer who has been featured in numerous national publications. She writes a blog on preserving foods for the Denver Post. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (October 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605294071
• ISBN-13: 978-1605294070
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Mushrooms

More About the Author

I have been writing about food for twenty years. My first book, At Mesa's Edge, was nominated for a Colorado Book Award. My second book, Italian Family Dining, was written with my father, artist and cookbook author Edward Giobbi. My third, Well Preserved, was nominated for a James Beard Award. But now, with Mycophilia, I'm writing about science. That might seem incongruous, but in fact, recipe writing and science writing are not totally dissimilar: both require very precise thinking and evocative language. It took me years to understand the science (I was not a biology major, not by a long shot) and to navigate the erudite and eccentric community of professional and amateur mycologists, but producing Mycophilia has been the most profound writing experience of my career. Mushrooms turned out to be the window by which I came to understand nature in a deeper way.

For mushroom recipes, links to mushroom clubs, and more, go to http://mycophilia.com/

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable romp in the fungal kingdom October 12, 2011

By E. Swope VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

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.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars OK. Could have been so much better. November 18, 2011

By Malcolm C. Kronby

Format:Hardcover

"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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An idiosyncratic look at the fungal kingdom November 22, 2011

By Karen Vaughan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Eugenia Bone is fascinated by mushrooms, although not a hardcore mycologist. She likes the edible mushrooms as a cook and, recalling mushroom hunting trips as a child, set to learn more. From mushroom festivals to scientific study of the cancer fighting properties of medicinal mushrooms, she takes you on a broad journey through the fungal kingdom.

First, this is not a field guide. You will need a library of field guides as well as local experts if you wish to follow up her stories with real life experience. But even while not a field guide, I can only hope the actual edition has color plates and quality printing. I am reviewing an advance copy and the illustrations are abysmal.

Eugenia Bone has obviously been influenced by Paul Stamet's Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, a book I highly recommend to mushroom lovers, environmentalists and lovers of the quirky. While Stamet's has the depth of years of collecting, experimenting with and propagating mushrooms- indeed he is one of the leading experts on the subject- Boone is a fascinated amateur. I like her book, her enthusiasm and her ability to pick up interesting facts and her ability to make them understandable to mushroom newbies.

I have been collecting and cooking mushrooms for 30 years, but generally confine myself to polypores (mushrooms with pinholes underneath instead of gills) where it is easier to avoid poisonous mistakes. It is also the part of the mushroom kingdom where most of the medicinal mushrooms are found, and as a practitioner of Oriental Medicine I make use of those. I have maybe 30 books on mushrooms in addition to herbals that reference them. Still I found Mycophilia to be enjoyable and worth reading.