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Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History
Nicholas P. Money
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Description for Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History
Hardback. Nicholas P. Money introduces the mythology and science of the spectacular array of fungi that produce mushrooms, and the ways that humans use mushrooms as food, medicines, and recreational drugs. Num Pages: 224 pages, 100 illustrations, 90 in colour. BIC Classification: PSQ; WNP. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 240 x 156. .
Mushrooms are loved, despised, feared and misunderstood. They have been a familiar part of nature throughout human history and occupy a special place in our consciousness. Nicholas P. Money introduces the mythology and science of the spectacular array of fungi that produce mushrooms, the history of our interactions with these curious and beautiful organisms, and the ways that humans use mushrooms as food, medicine and recreational drugs. Mushrooms are not self-contained organisms like worms or beetles. They are fruit bodies, or reproductive organs, produced by fungi whose feeding colonies, or mycelia, are hidden in soil or rotting wood. These colonies support life on land by decomposing plant and animal debris, fertilizing soils and sustaining plant growth through partnerships called mycorrhizas. Some of the fungi that produce mushrooms cause diseases of trees and shrubs, and the airborne spores of others are a major cause of asthma and hay fever. Mushrooms release so many spores into the atmosphere that they may affect local weather conditions and promote rainfall. Poisonous mushrooms were described by classical writers and edible species were important in Roman cuisine. Mushrooms became the objects of scientific study in the seventeenth century. Pioneers of mushroom science have included paragons of eccentricity, and their remarkable stories are celebrated in this book.
Product Details
Publisher
Reaktion Books
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2017
Condition
New
Number of Pages
224
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
ISBN
9781780237435
SKU
V9781780237435
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About Nicholas P. Money
Nicholas P. Money is Professor of Botany and Western Program Director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of eight books, including Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard: The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists (2002) and The Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the Microbes (2014).
Reviews for Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History
This book is simply amazing! It's a great read, and absolutely bursting
like an over-ripe puff-ball
with a marvelous mix of mushroom information.
Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Botany One An excellent introductory textbook for a budding mycologist, or an attractive gift for a mushroom enthusiast. The book is superbly and colorfully illustrated, with many useful diagrams spread over sixteen chapters including mushroom superstition, evolution, ecology, poisons, and conservation.
Oxveg News I found it an easy read and devoured it in a single day. This will make a great present for the general naturalist as well as a diverting read for a long flight for the mycologist
especially at such a reasonable price for a hardback book today!
IMA Fungus (Journal of the International Mycological Association) Money tells a riveting tale, based in fact, fiction, folkloric, and science to present a delightful introduction to a . . . very little understood aspect of Mother Nature.
Blue Wolf Reviews A well written, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated account of mushroom life and lore, leavened with humor. An ideal introduction to the most beautiful members of nature's least understood kingdom.
Richard Fortey FRS, author of Life: An Unauthorised Biography A fascinating tour around the weird world of mushrooms and of the people who study them. As a botanist I learned a lot about the natural world from the different perspective of these familiar yet obscure organisms.
Roland Ennos, University of Hull Money has done it again! Mushrooms is a masterful overview of mycology, written with clarity, wit, and affection. There simply is no better review of the subject out there. Mycophiles and gardeners
really, anyone who seeks to understand nature in a deeper way
will appreciate this excellent book. I know I do.
Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia: Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms Addressed to nature enthusiasts, Mushrooms is a perfect introduction to the kingdom of fungi. Each of the sixteen chapters is dedicated to a theme, ranging from Mushroom Science to Mushroom Superstition. Did you know that there is an Einstein of mycology? His name is A.H. Reginald Buller and his Researches on Fungi is considered the bible of mycology. Or that the largest organism in the world is a tangled web of hyphae that radiates for over 10 square km through a conifer forest in Oregon? Mushrooms addresses these questions and many more. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem and recommend it to anyone interested in the world of mushrooms.
Economic Botany Queer things, these mushrooms. The people who study them
mycologists
can be pretty interesting too. One used to walk to work wearing horse blinkers to preserve his eyes for his experiments on bioluminescent mushrooms. Another tested the edibility of every mushroom in his book, One Thousand American Fungi. 'As paragons of eccentricity, these individuals are peerless, ' writes Money, a US professor of botany, who has produced a fascinating read.
Organic Gardener (Australia) With his characteristically smart and sassy wit, Money guides us through the science of fungi but also tackles cultural themes less often explored by mycologists, including the contentious terrains of psychedelic fungi, their simmering histories of superstition, and the dubious undercurrents of the medicinal mushroom industry. Money delights in debunking fungal myths and misunderstandings. . . . Informative, entertaining, and at times provocative, Mushrooms combines science, cultural histories, and personal anecdotes in an inviting introduction for the novice venturing into fungal realms.
Alison Pouliot Australian Garden History
like an over-ripe puff-ball
with a marvelous mix of mushroom information.
Nigel Chaffey, Bath Spa University Botany One An excellent introductory textbook for a budding mycologist, or an attractive gift for a mushroom enthusiast. The book is superbly and colorfully illustrated, with many useful diagrams spread over sixteen chapters including mushroom superstition, evolution, ecology, poisons, and conservation.
Oxveg News I found it an easy read and devoured it in a single day. This will make a great present for the general naturalist as well as a diverting read for a long flight for the mycologist
especially at such a reasonable price for a hardback book today!
IMA Fungus (Journal of the International Mycological Association) Money tells a riveting tale, based in fact, fiction, folkloric, and science to present a delightful introduction to a . . . very little understood aspect of Mother Nature.
Blue Wolf Reviews A well written, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated account of mushroom life and lore, leavened with humor. An ideal introduction to the most beautiful members of nature's least understood kingdom.
Richard Fortey FRS, author of Life: An Unauthorised Biography A fascinating tour around the weird world of mushrooms and of the people who study them. As a botanist I learned a lot about the natural world from the different perspective of these familiar yet obscure organisms.
Roland Ennos, University of Hull Money has done it again! Mushrooms is a masterful overview of mycology, written with clarity, wit, and affection. There simply is no better review of the subject out there. Mycophiles and gardeners
really, anyone who seeks to understand nature in a deeper way
will appreciate this excellent book. I know I do.
Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia: Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms Addressed to nature enthusiasts, Mushrooms is a perfect introduction to the kingdom of fungi. Each of the sixteen chapters is dedicated to a theme, ranging from Mushroom Science to Mushroom Superstition. Did you know that there is an Einstein of mycology? His name is A.H. Reginald Buller and his Researches on Fungi is considered the bible of mycology. Or that the largest organism in the world is a tangled web of hyphae that radiates for over 10 square km through a conifer forest in Oregon? Mushrooms addresses these questions and many more. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem and recommend it to anyone interested in the world of mushrooms.
Economic Botany Queer things, these mushrooms. The people who study them
mycologists
can be pretty interesting too. One used to walk to work wearing horse blinkers to preserve his eyes for his experiments on bioluminescent mushrooms. Another tested the edibility of every mushroom in his book, One Thousand American Fungi. 'As paragons of eccentricity, these individuals are peerless, ' writes Money, a US professor of botany, who has produced a fascinating read.
Organic Gardener (Australia) With his characteristically smart and sassy wit, Money guides us through the science of fungi but also tackles cultural themes less often explored by mycologists, including the contentious terrains of psychedelic fungi, their simmering histories of superstition, and the dubious undercurrents of the medicinal mushroom industry. Money delights in debunking fungal myths and misunderstandings. . . . Informative, entertaining, and at times provocative, Mushrooms combines science, cultural histories, and personal anecdotes in an inviting introduction for the novice venturing into fungal realms.
Alison Pouliot Australian Garden History