How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures
Hardcover, 368 pages
English language
Published Sept. 3, 2020 by The Bodley Head.
A thoroughly entertaining treatise on a thoroughly fascinating topic.
Dieses Buch hat mich sehr fasziniert. Pilze haben so viele spannende Eigenschaften und tun coole Dinge, hab vieles nachgeschlagen und weitergelesen.
Sheldrake beschreibt diese Phänomene anschaulich und schlägt dabei immer wieder Bögen zur weiteren Bedeutung und Interpretation dieser für menschliche Forschung, Technik und Gesellschaft und ordnet dabei gut ein, was zum Beispiel Spekulation bzw mit Vorsicht zu genießen ist, aber trotzdem einen gewissen Einfluss auf vieler Leute Denken hat.
Die Analogien und vor allem Anekdoten fand ich teilweise etwas weit hergeholt und vor allem im letzten längeren Kapitel ziemlich zäh. Ganz nebenbei vergleicht er sich dabei selbst mit Pilzen, während er das halbe Buch mahnt, mit der Vermenschlichung von Naturphänomenen zurückhaltend zu sein.
It is hard to believe that something so embedded in life on earth is something so mysterious! I have lived on this earth 26 years and did not know almost anything this book discussed. It was an amazing book, and a bite sized introduction into mycology. Loved it!
Ein sehr spannendes Buch über die Welt der Pilze und Flechten. Mir hat es großen Spaß gemacht, es zu lesen. Denn Merlin Sheldrake schreibt mit beeindruckendem Fachwissen, großer Begeisterung und Engagement über das Thema. Dabei romantisiert er nicht, sondern bleibt trotz deutlich lesbarer Leidenschaft sehr wissenschaftlich und faktenbasiert. Bei seinen Recherchen zum Buch beweist Sheldrake große Neugier und Wagemut, er schreckt auch nicht vor etwas ungewöhnlichen Experimenten zurück. Die Ergebnisse sind bemerkenswert, und man erhält interessante Impulse, die Welt neu zu denken.
Der Enthusiasmus, mit dem er den Lesenden das Thema nahebringt, ist ansteckend. Eine kurzweilige Lektüre mit Horizonterweiterung.
Fungi are so fascinating - their biological properties are beyond weird ("different"), they can be found virtually anywhere, and have influenced humans and their civilizations in so many ways.
The author and I share this fascination, but unfortunately this book wasn't a hit for me.
Ironically, I didn't find enough information about fungi in it. There is a lot of stuff being described, but I found myself much less interested in the million stories around them -- and even less in the clearly hallucinogen-induced madness of some other passages.
What bugged me: Many of the properties of fungi that the author describes are incredible - but not unique. Other (micro-) organisms are able to do the same or very similar things, but are not mentioned. I think this is a misrepresentation of facts, and should have no place in a science non-fiction book like this one.
Admittedly, as a microbiologist, …
Fungi are so fascinating - their biological properties are beyond weird ("different"), they can be found virtually anywhere, and have influenced humans and their civilizations in so many ways.
The author and I share this fascination, but unfortunately this book wasn't a hit for me.
Ironically, I didn't find enough information about fungi in it. There is a lot of stuff being described, but I found myself much less interested in the million stories around them -- and even less in the clearly hallucinogen-induced madness of some other passages.
What bugged me: Many of the properties of fungi that the author describes are incredible - but not unique. Other (micro-) organisms are able to do the same or very similar things, but are not mentioned. I think this is a misrepresentation of facts, and should have no place in a science non-fiction book like this one.
Admittedly, as a microbiologist, my expectations may have been more scientific than for other non-fiction books. Yet, despite the beautiful illustrations and interesting photos, this book didn't quite convince me. I may have to get my fungal information fix elsewhere.
Would’ve been 5 stars, it’s funny, interesting, informative and all that stuff.
But the odd sentence he comes out with just sounds like nonsense, there are quite a few leading statements that can’t be proven or disproven. Which leaves a sour taste in my…eyes?
I knew mushrooms are fascinating, but this book managed to fill me with awe. Sheldrake beautifully describes how fundamental these overlooked beings are for all life on the planet. If you have any passing interest for biology, ecology, plants or fungi, this is a must read.
I buy the Royal Society book prize shortlist each year and this was the book I was most looking forward to. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected given the subject is quite fascinating. It felt like there was a bit too much author and not enough fungus. However the dense endnotes more than made up for it. A very cool subject and really a good introduction. I could have used a bit more technical content though. I
On the whole, I found Merlin's book an okay read. I have listened to him talk on various podcasts, and it was interesting to visit the source of his thoughts. I feel it is a confession of a mycophilic, heavily spun from reference material, doctoral studies, and associates in the field. It was more like a thesis than a text on field research. But, and there is a big but, I can't fault Sheldrake's bringing all this material together in one text, peppered by his boyish enthusiasm. It is lovely to indulge in someone's own passion, regardless of how they present it.
Sometimes, I felt the adulation for psilocybin to be laboured and at times pontifical. I think if one is going to dip into social science, there might the other side of the coin mentioned when psilocybin has caused psychosis, or done nothing at all in the way of …
On the whole, I found Merlin's book an okay read. I have listened to him talk on various podcasts, and it was interesting to visit the source of his thoughts. I feel it is a confession of a mycophilic, heavily spun from reference material, doctoral studies, and associates in the field. It was more like a thesis than a text on field research. But, and there is a big but, I can't fault Sheldrake's bringing all this material together in one text, peppered by his boyish enthusiasm. It is lovely to indulge in someone's own passion, regardless of how they present it.
Sometimes, I felt the adulation for psilocybin to be laboured and at times pontifical. I think if one is going to dip into social science, there might the other side of the coin mentioned when psilocybin has caused psychosis, or done nothing at all in the way of expanding a sense of universal awareness. However, this thought only crossed my mind because the reference to McKenna and the psychedelic properties of fungi were considerable. I think bringing McKenna to the table of mycelium research these days is like reading aloud Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance at a nursing home. I just think, most know, most have been there, read that. Let's carry on.
There was a lot in this book I had already known about, hence Sheldrake's bibliography is extensive (about forty pages long), and much has been espoused in some way or another. I would have liked Merlin to have chosen less broadcast or published concepts concerning mycelium to examine. His notes are a good read though, and should have been included in the main body of the text. To be fair, he exerts his own twist on referenced material which I enjoyed.
I think it is a good read however, as an introduction to the fascinating connection life has with fungi, and through Sheldrake's experience, can only be unique. I really look forward to his further writing on the subject. Personally, his ponderous, linguistic thoughts on the concept of mycelium and fungi tickled me, and I enjoyed his turn of phrase. He is a good writer, but green. I am sure that future work will be more focussed and comprehensive, and have deepened views on particular aspects of his research. At the end of the day, he is vocalising in an understandable tongue what others may not be able to do due to using a more formal or technical language.
This book is a pep talk on fungi. It can only assist in achieving wider enthusiasm for the field of research and understanding of the subject.
Wow. Yes. Wow. That's some good stuff right there. Hot damn!
This book really made me question so many things!!! Like even what it is to be a BEING. Can we even talk about individuals at all. Aren't we all a dynamic being, an amalgamation of organisms and interactions, unable to thrive or even survive without so many parts of the bigger puzzle. Can I even be without the bacteria that inhabit me? Already phrasing it badly - can they inhabit me or do they actually enable me to be at all? And therefore... Are they me? Are we one? AAAHHHHH
Gosh what a ride. With this book you will explore crazy philosophical matters, and all with (something seemingly as simple as) fungi as vessels for this journey. You will be amazed, you will be shocked, you will think in ways you've probably never considered before. Special mention to, as …
Wow. Yes. Wow. That's some good stuff right there. Hot damn!
This book really made me question so many things!!! Like even what it is to be a BEING. Can we even talk about individuals at all. Aren't we all a dynamic being, an amalgamation of organisms and interactions, unable to thrive or even survive without so many parts of the bigger puzzle. Can I even be without the bacteria that inhabit me? Already phrasing it badly - can they inhabit me or do they actually enable me to be at all? And therefore... Are they me? Are we one? AAAHHHHH
Gosh what a ride. With this book you will explore crazy philosophical matters, and all with (something seemingly as simple as) fungi as vessels for this journey. You will be amazed, you will be shocked, you will think in ways you've probably never considered before. Special mention to, as already mentioned, questioning the Cartesian conception of being, but also to pointing out how some of our basic observations of nature ie the theory of evolution are actually BIASED and were described in terms that reflect the historical context of the era - and this has all shaped the way we view and conceptualize nature!!!! Like Darwinian evolution talks about competition and survival of the fittest but this in the end is one (1) way we chose to describe natural phenomena which in its turn causes us to view all these natural phenomena in a very specific way!! What if we had started describing nature or life as this interconnected being, dependent on all its parts, in constant mutability and mutualism.... WHAT THEN!!! omg i dont know Im lost - every time I get into this I start losing my sense of self!!!
So yes highly recommend this book if you want your ego to dissolve and become one with the cosmos and/or to dip your tippy toes in posthumanist thinking, 13/10 would go through this wild ride all over again
It was really enlightening to learn about the incredible impact that fungus has on all parts of the world.
I was especially intrigued at how plant roots and mycelium work together. It was also very surprising to hear about the impressive effects that truffles have on humans. I hadn't known that they had such an effect on people.
Some really interesting stuff, but buried underneath a lot of flowery writing and speculative rambling which sadly made it a bit tedious to read.
Sheldrake's exploration of mycology and all things adjacent goaded me into numerous little experiments-- mushroom growing, starting up the cider press again, looking for fungus in new places in relation to the trees. The book is full of tangents and somewhat out-there philosophy-- much like the kinds of conversations one would have with an old friend while you're tripping. I think what really delivered this book in its fullness was the voice of Sheldrake. He knows best how to annunciate his prose and make it digestible to a novice audience. That smooth british voice makes me question my sexuality. Highly recommended to anyone who thinks nature is neat
Whimsical, thought provoking (in a "wow life is weird" way), a bit repetitious. A fun read overall.
Fascinating topic, and the book started off well, but for me it kind of fell apart and started getting repetitive.
