Rating: 
Summary: An excellent guide for mushroomers at any level
Review: This is one of my all time favorite mushroom guides. Aurora combines comprehensive info on mushrooms along with witty humor. The book contains detailed descriptions of a lot of different species, including microscopic details. This isn't the book for you if you want a lot of nice colored photos, but if you can use a dichotomous key you'll be all set!
Rating: 
Summary: Best field guide
Review: This is probably the best field guide ever done on the subject. Although I was a neurobiology student in grad school, I had an interest in mycology and took every mycology, lichenology, and non-vascular plant course offered at San Francisco State by the great mycologist, Dr. Harry Thiers, so I've had instruction in the subject by the best. And although the academic specialists have done better books on the individual genera, this is still the best overall "nature guide" type book. Just the photographs themselves are worth the price of the book, because they're gorgeous. There is also plenty of information on other topics besides the description and identification material, such as how fungi reproduce, their distribution and ecology, edibility and toxicology, and many other interesting subjects.The one criticism I've heard about the book from the professional mycologists is that Arora did not do microscopic analysis on his specimens so as to actually prove what species it is. If you approach the book from the standpoint of this being the best book on the art and science of mushroom identification based on macroscopically observable features, you will be fine. It is Arora's expertise in this aspect of mycology and the detailed and clear descriptions of the species for identification purposes that is exceptional about this guide.
Rating:
Summary: I have three of these books!
Review: This year I'm the president of the Colorado Mycological Society and I believe that this book is essential for any mushroom enthusiast! Personally, I have three of them (one for work, one for home, and one for my truck!) and am looking for another to give away as a gift (if someone sells a used one real cheap!). It is the most complete 'atlas' of mushroom identification that you can buy.
Check out my mushroom website at http://www.capsandstems.com
Rating:
Summary: the best. must have. period
Review: you should have more than one field guide, and if you live in north america, Mushrooms Demystified should be one of them.this book is the best mushroom field guide i have used. It is the most informative and thorough. aurora gives more than ample descriptions of genus and individual species, helpful tips, background info, humor, everything. the photographs are excellent (although some are unfortunatly in black and white). it would be even more helpful if you happen to live on the west coast but i still consider it a must have for anywhere in north america. i use it in conjuction with Mushrooms of west virginia and the central appalachians by william c. roody and Mushroooms of northearstern North America by the Bessetes and David W. Fischer. i have also used Mushrooms of north america by orson K. Miller (a cursory field guide, nothing more), and george barron's northeastern mushroom guide (whatever the exact title is), which i srongly advise against buying (i returned it and now i'm going to give it a bad review as well)
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