Bravo to Eugenia Bone. I didn't know I had a lifelong dream until now, now I do. I sincerely applaud her ability to sell a book about her passions and pursuits in a way that both educates and acts as a personal memoir. How fun and rewarding would that be? Write a book about your days in a sort of blogger way and then have lots of people buy it. All of the flattery would go straight to my head. I'd be a useless friend because my ego wouldn't fit through the front door so I'd miss all the best parties in my honor. This book is not as fact filled as The Emperor of All Maladies or Sophie's World which are other non-fiction books that are supposed to be a more relaxed way to learn. But it is important to note that Mycophilia is not supposed to follow those books. The author really is writing for a genre of memoir more than natural science. It seems conceivable that her publishers might encourage the misconception. Regardless, it flowed well and taught me new things. My favorite take away from this book is Ötzi the caveman was found with two polypore mushrooms, one mushroom is an excellent fire starter and the other is "practically a first aid kit." Makes me wonder what life would be like if we all carried mushrooms around daily. My old passion for mushrooms brought me to this book and I certainly enjoyed it. There are a few errors, but over all here is a key to the magic kingdom, a sense of the seductive hunt and the mysterious quest that all mycophiles plunge into when the rains have fallen. Bone combines the delightfully subjective narrative of the quest with science and popular mythology in a book that you can gift to any friend of the mushroom. There's even a nod to the fascinating new exploration of the microbiome!
To a bit to get into, but once I was, I was stuck. I had no idea fungus was so interesting...
—molefi
Like the author, I think my fascination with mushrooms isn't over. Interesting read.
—Paloma
I really enjoyed this. Everything I wanted to know about mushrooms.
—Sudipta
fascinating book about the little known world of mushrooms.
—kimsterdestroy
I'm eating more mushrooms.
—Rayyviin
