Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

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Stamets' detailed accounts of his own experiments and discoveries, and the broad possibilities these could create for the future of forestry, food and generally looking after the natural world. km2) site in eastern Oregon had a contiguous growth of mycelium before logging roads cut through it. But what really sets this book apart is, I repeat: Informative and useful for anarchists, foresters, teachers, and waste management engineers alike. The first half of the book also left me curious about patent law as it applies to living organisms and how Stamets and others operate in this space.

I forgot I was on a waiting list for almost a year to receive this one from the library, unfortunately my interest in fungi and mushrooms has somewhat waned since reading a similar book last year. Amongst the many insights in this book one of the most interesting was a passage where Stamets discussed the number of anti biotics and anti vitals that originated with different kinds of mycelium and goes on to posit that given the mycellial biodiversity there's probably an antiviral there for every virus we encounter. I'm not sure why that discrepancy exists, but I think the first 200 pages or so could have been safely cut down to just hard facts on fungal structure/lifecycle, important studies, and interesting mushroom trivia. Stamets’s best work to date, Mycelium Running provides a wealth of information showing how fungal mycelia and mushrooms can profoundly improve the quality of human life. Sadly, his writing pales in comparison to his speeches, and after struggling through it I think I'll stick to his videos instead.Based upon the premise that habitats and humans (animals) have immune systems, and that mushrooms are the beneficial bridges for both, Mycelium Running marks the dawn of a new era: the use of mycelial membranes for ecological health. Phrases like "mushrooms are shamanic souls, spiritually tuned into their homelands," "mushrooms are forest guardians," "ancient mycological wisdom," "collective fungal consciousness," and, inexplicably, "chi power" take away from the overall message. Mushroom-forming forest fungi are unique in that their mycelial mats can achieve such massive proportions.

For example, from page 7… I believe that the mycelium operates at a level of complexity that exceeds the computational powers of our most advanced supercomputers. I could tell the author had a lot of experience in this area, and I'm glad he had so much detailed advice to offer. Heavily referenced and beautifully illustrated, this book is destined to be a classic reference for generations to come.Not only will you never see fungi the same way, but for the frst time in a long time i am positive about the human race's chances for continued occupation of this planet. This book is definitely more complicated to understand (I'll reread it several times and I'm pretty sure I'll continue to discover fascinating things with each reading). That’s right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how. One site said most mushrooms won’t tolerate the caffeine left behind, while another said one of the easiest to cultivate was an exception to that, and others said that wouldn’t be a problem, but it also appeared that maybe mushrooms are difficult to grow in general? I gave the review 4 stars because the ideas are interesting and will be looking more broadly for evidence of the larger scale verification and adoption of the ideas.

I liked the details provided on different routes you could take (types of substrate, inoculation methods) even if I'm not a cultivator myself. The structure of the chapters, which often move from hyper-detailed analysis of a trial to unsubstantiated speculations on what could be possible in future.

The third part of the book is essential a catalog of specific varieties of mushrooms, with much detail about habitat, characteristics, and uses. He has directed his attention to mushrooms and mycelium and has used his unique intelligence and intuition to make discoveries of great practical import.

But the enslavement-of-fungi thing is disheartening enough that it puts a damper on the entire book (and the Stamets enterprise) for me.

I also liked that he went over general fungal structure and life cycles, which is important for understanding the rest of the book.