Customer Reviews

Smithsonian Handbooks: Mushrooms

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

 

 

This is an excellent guide with ONE important caveat: it is originally a guide to European mushrooms, not North American 'shrooms. Gary Lincoff, a leading mycologist, Americanized it somewhat. But some 'shrooms discussed within are only seen in Europe. Some names differ from ones normally used here. And so forth. On the plus side, the AMOUNT of info presented on each mushroom is quite useful, especially little diagrams indicating size relative to the size of a human hand. Pictures are excellent. Another plus: handy size and waterproof cover. Will hold up well in the woods. Organization is a bit weird; sections are divided by macro features (gilled, non-gilled etc.) which results in some species being scattered across several sections (see chanterelle family for examples).

Pro:
This is one of the most beautiful new books I have ever seen. The layout, colors, drawings, photographs, and written detail... I just want to live in it. It's like a very small coffee table book that's tough enough to take into the field. This book has taught me to recognize the difference between a Bolette, a Lactarius, a Russula, and an Amanita. For this reason it can be fun to own and would make a good gift - especially for a European friend.

Con:
Contrary to what it suggests on page 8, this book is NOT a field guide to North American mushrooms. I took a quick count and of the 51 fungi in the first chapter, ten are not even found outside of Europe and Asia. To be fair, a few of those are listed as "World Distribution Unknown." General features may carry across the ocean, but trying to identify North American mushroom *species* with this book is very hit or miss. They say that if you aren't certain of the species, you shouldn't be eating it. I'm a beginner, but I've only been able to identify maybe 20% of the most common mushrooms in my area (upstate SC, USA) with any degree of certainty using this book.

I had this book for a few years and tried to identify some mushrooms but found it hard to do, it covers too many species from all over the world confusing me as a mushroom fan. Maybe having a book for local area would narrow it down and be more useful for people like me who just want to know the most familiar mushrooms of their place.

i havent read a whole book since graduate school but have never stopped learning about things. we have the entire collection and i now devour them cover to cover. i purchased almost all of them on Amazon for $5-$13 each (verses the $20 cover price). my kids and i LOVE to read these books and learn about the rocks, fossils and nature we find camping and fishing.

I like this book as a useful field guide to mushrooms in the Northeast. It has very nice pictures as well as descriptions. It also fits nicely into my basket. It doesn't have many of the mushrooms I find, but which book does? - particularly a field guide.

If I could only have one mushroom book, this would be the one. It is easy to use and displays almost all of the information I need for inital identifcation of a mushroom on one page.