Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi

Rating:
Summary: MD rules
Review: Arora's book isn't as long on color photos as, say, the Audobon guide, but who cares? The book's thoroughly comprehensive key, which takes you down to the specific level in many cases, is of professional taxonomic quality, not a look-compare-pray guide like the other books have. Beyond the key, there's a thorough description of each 'shroom that the key might lead you to; Arora's witty and eccentric style keeps this wash of technical detail from getting boring. Over a hundred pages on lore, technique, and the mushroom collector's ethos will make a convert out of you, even if you haven't listened to "Indeterminacy"

Rating:
Summary: A Shroomers Bible
Review: Contains lots of cosmopolitan species. So the book is great for European readers. The ONLY minus is a lack of color photos, but the B&W pictures are good. The book has lots of humour so its very entertaining. A must for your mushroom library.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Dave Arora has written, in my opinion, the best book on the subject. It is full of useful information, as one should expect from such a weighty book on the subject. It is a must have for anyone who stomps the same mushroom hunting territory as the author. Mr. Arora's wit and proficient, if not skillful, use of the English language makes this book surprisingly funny and readable. My only caveat is that the book does not contain much information for those readers who are interested in cultivating mushrooms.

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Summary: amateur
Review: Definitely not for the amateur.He has good information but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the arrangement,which makes it very difficult for a amateur.

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Summary: A Must Buy for Every Mushroomer
Review: From the beginner to the expert, this book contains enough information to keep both satisfied. It can even make the beginner feel like an expert after a while! It is entertaining, interesting and filled with information that is simply unavailable elsewhere. Often I find myself reading it for the sheer pleasure of learning about mushrooms. It is amazingly comprehensive for a book that is supposed to be from the west coast. I live in the east and I find it incredibly useful. Often other books are incomplete or vague in their descriptions and this one steps in to fill the gaps. If there is one flaw with this book it is the lack of pictures. Often I consult other books to match a mushroom to the picture and get an idea of what it might be. Then this book helps to narrow it down to an exact species and supplies more information than most other books combined. If you are interested in hunting mushrooms then I can see no reason why you should not own this book...END

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Fun and Fancy. Can't be beat, especially for the Pacific Northwest.

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Summary: A room with a view!
Review: I must say that a year ago I didnt give a hoot about shrooms! But now the "friendly fungi" adorn my house! I simply can't get enough of the ugly, rubbery little things.
In the past several months, I have managed to make several handy items out of roomies including a hat and several very nice coat buttons. This Christmas, my wife and I plan to decorate our tree with mushrooms and another of our favorites, potatoes!

Rating:
Summary: A Must-have for mycologists
Review: I've heard this book referred to as "the Bible" of mushrooms. This book is written for novice and seasoned mushroom hunters alike. This is a good key for species and is an excellent text to familiarize yourself with the kingdom of the Fungi. Arora does a good job of making the subject accessible to all interested readers. This book exceeds the quality of other field guides, such as Peterson's Mushrooms field guide by Kent McKnight (not that McKnight's book is bad). Mushrooms Demystified is a good addition to any mushroom field guide as a careful double-check of identification (especially before eating your find!).

Rating:
Summary: A Must-have for mycologists
Review: I've heard this book referred to as "the Bible" of mushrooms. This book is written for novice and seasoned mushroom hunters alike. This is a good key for species and is an excellent text to familiarize yourself with the kingdom of the Fungi. Arora does a good job of making the subject accessible to all interested readers. This book exceeds the quality of other field guides, such as Peterson's Mushrooms field guide by Kent McKnight (not that McKnight's book is bad). Mushrooms Demystified is a good addition to any mushroom field guide as a careful double-check of identification (especially before eating your find!).

Rating:
Summary: Putting the fun back in fungi
Review: If you can only have one book on mushrooms - I pity you. You're missing out on a lot. But, if you can only have one, then this is the one you should have. As far as single volume, non-technical mushroom books go, this is the top of the line. Arora's clever text (One species is graced with the common name of "Yet Another Mycena"; edibility notes may consist of "Who knows? Who cares?") does not detract from the real learning of the author, nor does it overwhelm and bury the large amount of information to be found in the book