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A Field Guide to Mushrooms: North America (Peterson Field Guides) Paperback – February 15, 1998

by Kent H. McKnight (Author), Vera B. McKnight (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 464 ratings
See all formats and editions
More than 1,000 species of mushrooms described in detail. Over 700 paintings and drawings reveal subtle field marks that cannot be captured into photographs.
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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Houghton Mifflin
  4. Publication date
    February 15, 1998
  5. Dimensions
    4.5 x 1.18 x 7.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0395910900
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0395910900
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kent McKnight was a world-renowned mycologist and the author of the first edition of the Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin; Reissue,Subsequent edition (February 15, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0395910900
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0395910900
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 1.18 x 7.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 464 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
464 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book very informative, useful, and excellent. They also say the descriptions are articulate and clear. Opinions are mixed on the visuals, with some finding them nice and a major plus, while others say they're small and scattered throughout the book. Readers disagree on the identification ability, with some saying it helps with identifying wild specimens, while others say it's difficult to recognize the mushroom types.

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Information contentEase of useVisualsIdentification ability
32 customers mention "Information content"29 positive3 negative

Customers find the book very informative, well-written, and useful. They say it's an excellent resource and the best go-to reference book for collecting edible mushrooms.

"I love this book it is very informative and has great illustrations" Read more

"This is an exceptional mushroom field guide; however I'm rating it only 3.5 stars of of 5, because it would be nice to have more pictures...." Read more

"...This book was great." Read more

"It's got a lot of info but not too many colored pictures, most are done in pencil sketches and so hard to know if you are getting the right one,..." Read more

17 customers mention "Ease of use"12 positive5 negative

Customers find the book easy to use. They appreciate the articulate descriptions, clear descriptions of what to look for, and detailed information. Readers also mention the print is very easy to read and the pictures are extensive.

"...It's loaded with line drawings and precise descriptions that are so essential to identifying mushrooms, including edibility and poisonous lookalikes." Read more

"...Using the sharp drawings, ruler on back fold, and articulate descriptions, I have been able to identify all the mushrooms that are growing around..." Read more

"I have not found this not user friendly. Doesn’t include many common names instead has scientific designations...." Read more

"...It's amazing; however more challenging to use than other field guilds with more pictures." Read more

22 customers mention "Visuals"12 positive10 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the visuals in the book. Some mention they're nice, while others say they're small and scattered throughout the book.

"I love this book it is very informative and has great illustrations" Read more

"...Some photos were pencil sketches which I found hard to recognize the mushroom types...." Read more

"Lots of information condensed into this guide. It's loaded with line drawings and precise descriptions that are so essential to identifying mushrooms..." Read more

"It's got a lot of info but not too many colored pictures, most are done in pencil sketches and so hard to know if you are getting the right one,..." Read more

10 customers mention "Identification ability"5 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's identification ability. Some mention it's good for identifying wild specimens, while others say the pictures are horrible and difficult to recognize. They also say the species names have been changed or split into multiple species.

"I LOVE this Book. It has a clear reference of the different Mushrooms. It comes with beautiful pictures. They really help you distinguish..." Read more

"...Some photos were pencil sketches which I found hard to recognize the mushroom types...." Read more

"...and secure, no problems, brand new, the book itself is really good for identity of mushrooms, i found a couple of mushrooms at the park and used the..." Read more

"This book was published in 1987. Many of the species names have been changed or split into multiple species. Also the binding broke immediately...." Read more

GET A CURRENT EDITION!
2 out of 5 stars
GET A CURRENT EDITION!
Lots and lots of unlabeled arrows on the illustrated plates. Says copyright 1987. Doesn’t list an edition that I can find. Haven’t been able to identify most of the fungi growing in my yard or the surrounding woods from this book. Eagerly bought the book because it came highly recommended from some local survivalist types. DISAPPOINTED.
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Top reviews from the United States

Sierra
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2020
Verified Purchase
I love this book it is very informative and has great illustrations
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Sharon
5.0 out of 5 stars Great field guide
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
Lots of information condensed into this guide. It's loaded with line drawings and precise descriptions that are so essential to identifying mushrooms, including edibility and poisonous lookalikes.
2 people found this helpful
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Unlisted
4.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Book for Mushrooms
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is an exceptional mushroom field guide; however I'm rating it only 3.5 stars of of 5, because it would be nice to have more pictures. It's amazing; however more challenging to use than other field guilds with more pictures.
One person found this helpful
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Glynis M Law
5.0 out of 5 stars Field Guide to Mushrooms
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
I LOVE this Book. It has a clear reference of the different Mushrooms. It comes with beautiful pictures. They really help you distinguish
between the different mushrooms. What are safe to eat and what aren't. when i first received the book there were defective pages, but after getting on line with Amazon and disclosing my grief they quickly resolved my issue and replaced my book.I have full confidence in buying my products from Amazon
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Susan B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Very helpful! Once we opened up trails in our woods, there were hundreds of mushrooms I wanted to identify.
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Marilyn Keurajian
5.0 out of 5 stars Clean and un-used
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book has nice illustrations, no photos, but the drawings are clear and well colored. Should be a companion book in forays, not the only reference source.
One person found this helpful
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J&A
5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2013
Verified Purchase
My husband and I are rookies when it comes to mushroom hunting so we wanted a book with detailed pictures and information that is easy to understand. This book was great.
One person found this helpful
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Thomas Dunham
3.0 out of 5 stars Not really sure?
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
I'm not 100% sure what I think of this guide. I like that it's a bit old-school in its layout, and I like that it covers some species of fungus that other guides don't, which for me is the reason I've bought so many of these types of books.

I guess two things rub me the wrong way a little: the color plates are inserted together in the center of the book, which is fairly typical for this sort of book (black-and-white, paperback-style for the text and copy, while the plates are more expensive glossy color), but I find that cramming so many illustrations on each color plate makes for a confusing search, and I also feel like at this point in time they really should use proper photographs in these guidebooks. Because when identifying mushrooms, as the old phrase goes, the devil is often in the details, and paintings are great for a lot of things but details ain't one of them. Honestly if you have even a modest amount of experience foraging for mushrooms the chances of you mistakely eating something dangerous is slim anyway, but having an artist's version of a particular mushroom as opposed to a photograph of the real thing isn't helping much.

In other words, I wouldn't want a beginner to use this.

The other thing that confuses me is this: As an owner of a pretty good stack of mushroom guides (and an experienced forager), I can tell you that there are always discrepencies between the guides over the degree of edibility of some species of mushrooms. Usually though the discrepency is small, maybe one guide says something is edible, while another says edible but it gives a lot of people a headache or something similar. I found myself with this guide really taken aback by what I thought was WAY too much caution with some species... let me be clear also that this is my opinion. And mixing that degree of caution with the ambiguity of a painted color plate just sort of confused me.

Besides those two things though, there is plenty of useful information in here. Which, when you're hunting for mushrooms, you can never have enough of.
20 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for mushroom foragers.
Reviewed in Canada on October 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a very nice field guide for mushroom foragers. The descriptions are reasonably thorough with a little bit of humour mixed in. It's even nice to read by the fire in the evening, if you are weird enough to do such things. It's just at the limit of what you want to carry in the field, in terms of size and weight. I keep a larger, more detailed guide at home. Highly recommended!
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Jacqueline Juárez Cepeda
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente material didáctico!
Reviewed in Mexico on August 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Excelente guía.
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Fracalossi Luciano
2.0 out of 5 stars good text, poor images!
Reviewed in Italy on November 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
The text part is useful, but I consider a poor choice not to have real photos of the mushrooms on the book, but only drawings.
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Fernando
5.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
Reviewed in Mexico on October 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
Buen libro m, las descripciones de los hongos vienen en inglés.
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RP
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book. Only preread some of it but it ...
Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Awesome book. Only preread some of it but it will increase my mushroom knowledge when I go hunting for them this spring.
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