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Merlin Sheldrake: Entangled Life (2020) 4 stars

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting …

An appetizer for the world of fungi, not a beginners mycology textbook

4 stars

Fungi are incredibly interesting and this book does them justice. It does an excellent job of describing their importance and the hidden connections between Fungi and plants, but also Fungi and humans. And it's written in a way that you feel close to the author, as he takes us on this journey.

I just wished there was more. More about different kinds of Fungi, more about recent science, about the importance of Fungi in different cultures etc. But I assume this is just no the scope and also not the ambition of this book, it's not meant to be an intro into mycology.

If I could I would give it 4.5 stars. It was very interesting and it made me want to dig more fungi related books, but it was not perfect. E.g. I felt a bit less invested than when reading "Never Home Alone" by Rob Dunn last year and which is another biology popular science book talking about life that is normal hidden from us. Not sure why I preferred that, maybe it's the quality of the prose, maybe it felt more scientific and more complete. So as a nitpicky German I feel hesitant to give a perfect score, so 4 it is. But I'll definitely watch out for new books from Merlin Sheldrake.

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