Mushrooms have been making the rounds on the internet and in pop culture. At the Renaissance Fair last year, I saw more than zero people dressed up as mushrooms. In fact, I saw four or five people dressed up as mushrooms, which isn’t that much, but it’s odd considering that I usually see zero. Fungi are fascinating things, though, and I understand a little more about why someone might want to dress up as one after reading this book. Also, I can finally talk with my younger sibling about fungi and understand them.

Entangled Life is a book about fungi. It goes through all the motions you’d expect—psychedelics such as LSD, slime mold problem solving, and fermentation—and many that you wouldn’t, from challenging our linear understanding of evolution to exploring enormous fungal networks in the woods. Merlin Sheldrake’s writing is entertaining and clear—you do not need to be a mycologist to understand the book.

Sheldrake also expresses a lot of hope for present and future uses of fungi. From white rot fungi that can decompose toxic waste to mycelial leathers, there appears to be a fungal solution to all sorts of environmental and material issues. Some of the discussions on fungal upcycling and fungal materials (such as those used by Ecovative and FUNGAR remind me of the optimistic industrial views of Cradle to Cradle—a way to think of waste as food.

Here’s a list of some projects I found online about fungal projects:

• Press release regarding FUNGAR (2020)
• The Plan to Mop Up the World’s Largest Oil Spill With Fungus (2015)
• Fungi as source for new bio-based materials: a patent review (2019)
• Could A Mushroom Save The Honeybee? (2015)

One of my friends also recently began growing mushrooms in his house—I know because I stood outside with him for like three hours in March heping him pressure cook grain for it. After reading this book, I have to say that I’m interested in doing that myself, though maybe without the pressure cooking. I think you can find easier ways online.

But enough rambling.

Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life is a great book for anyone remotely interested in fungi. It’s a pretty short read, too—less then 250 pages.