Entangled Life How Fungi Make Our Worlds (Paperback) /anglais Paperback – September 2, 2021

This is a great read - fascinating and insightful.The author educates and entertains with humor and grace. He describes fungi in intimate detail and explains a huge chunk of the microcosm on which we, as humans, depend. If you’re interested in nature, in medicine or just in how things work in the world, you won’t be disappointed.

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake offers a fascinating exploration into the often-overlooked world of fungi. This book delves into the profound impact that fungi have on our environment, health, and even our cognitive processes.Sheldrake's writing illuminates how fungi form complex networks that influence ecosystems and interact with a wide range of organisms, including humans. The book is a captivating blend of science and storytelling, revealing the crucial role fungi play in everything from decomposition and nutrient cycling to medicine and mental health.Richly detailed and engaging, Entangled Life invites readers to rethink their understanding of nature and the interconnectedness of life. It’s a compelling read for anyone interested in biology, ecology, or the hidden wonders of the natural world.

I must admit I am a stickler for good writing. Whether it’s a novel or nonfiction, I relish a writer’s ability to put ideas into well-written words. British writers seem especially adept at writing English, just as British actors seem so adept at acting in English. Partly it may be learned growing up there or maybe schools there expect a higher level of writing. In any case, this young man has well earned my praise for his book as well his well-deserved professorial appointment and skill in scientific research. At a young age he’s already at the top!This is not my field of study, but no matter how ignorant you might be in biology or fungi, I guarantee you will find him easy to follow and you’ll come to appreciate how valuable and necessary are fungi to the life of a forest or a field or anywhere really. Our earth is now at risk and fungi play a vital role - as you will come to learn. Read it!

How rich our world is because of fungi and yeast. The examples of connection helps me appreciate my connectedness to the earth and everything on it.

I really enjoyed this book. The portion on Lichens (a fascination of mine) was very good, although I wish it was a bit longer. Their were revelations in every chapter, some which were just changes of perspective. For instance, the revelation that mushrooms were just the fruiting bodies of underground fungal colonies brought me up short. That there are fungi that also entrap nematodes for food sometimes, was really eye opening. Also, the permeation of just about every variety of plant by Fungi, and how they even link trees together and help balance the nutrients among stands of trees. Who would have thought? Finally, it's clear that there is a strong influence of Fungi on human beings (for instance, via yeasts and fermentation) was fascinating, and now that I've read this, I see the influence of Fungi everywhere, which I suspect was the point. There were some sections that delved into philosophic and sometimes abstract ideas that didn't quite interest me, but overall this was an excellent book.

I really hate to sound like a fangirl, but I will make an exception for this book. It has been years since I read a book that I was truly sad to finish, but when I turned a page and saw the word "epilogue" at the beginning of the next, I was genuinely bummed knowing I will never get to read this book again for the first time.Is it full of fascinating facts about fungi? Certainly. But it was actually the writing that made reading this book such a joy. Sheldrake's prose is lively and clever, but above all it is richly sensual--something you don't usually find in scientific non-fiction. There is an earthiness and intimacy, even a subtle eroticism, that befits the subject matter, and conjures a sense of vicarious experience. If you didn't think lichens were sexy before, Sheldrake will persuade you.Enmeshed (dare one say like fungal hyphae?) with the bare facts is another, more introspective narrative about Sheldrake's own evolution as a scientist and a person, via his deepening relationship with his subject. Indeed, relationality is a theme that repeatedly emerges in this work; evidently, it is something fungi can teach us a lot about. While many scientists undoubtedly grow through their relationships with their research subjects, in my experience few are reflective enough to realize it, let alone lean into it and write a book about it.Highly recommended for mushroom nerds, fans of fungal medicine, ecologists, animists, and all symbionts alike.

This book is far more interesting than I imagined. If you have any interest in plant life and/or it’s s evolution, this is the book for you. It’s a wonderful read, packed with information.

I love Merlin‘s writing style. And as a high school senior, this book was both very accessible to somebody with minimal knowledge about the subject and very inspiring for somebody who is thinking about what they want to do with their life. Mycology is super cool the writing style really just blew me away. I love how accessible this book makes science feel especially because it’s very engaging and written in such a way that it’s isn’t just interesting facts but also it expresses the cultural impacts and more human sides of the topic really really well. I’m absolutely obsessed.