Product Description

The culmination of over thirty years' work, this authoritative and superbly illustrated reference work is packed with the most up-to-date information and original photographs. Set to become the essential illustrated mycological encyclopedia for the next 25 years, this book is also clear, user friendly and will appeal to a wide range of readers. Unsurpassed in both illustrative and descriptive detail, "Mushrooms" contains over 1,250 photographs, often showing the specimens in various stages of growth, and including all the latest botanical and common names as well as current ecological information on endangered species. Having sold more than 750,000 copies in Europe of his previous title on mushrooms, Roger Phillips' new book once again sets the benchmark. Quite simply, nobody with an interest in the subject can afford to be without this book. 'Roger Phillips has written the best mushroom book I know: the sublime taxonomic accuracy of his descriptions and photographs, combined with an evangelical and infectious passion for the subject, will make an instant mycophile of anyone who picks it up.' - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. 'A masterpiece of identification.' - David Bellamy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1044 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Jackie Foottit Hull Daily Mail Jackie Foottit, Hull Daily Mail
'Classy book...An unsurpassed reference guide.'

Country Smallholding
'sets the benchmark for works of mushroom identification...the
essential encyclopedia for mushroom hunters and anyone interested in the
subject.’

The London Review of Books
'To call it the mushroomers' bible is to understate the reverence
enthusiasts have for it...'

Customer Reviews

The Best Buy Yet
For someone who appreciates flora and fauna AND good books - This is a fantastic buy. As a relative beginner to the world of fungi, this book ticks all the boxes for a reference book (so probably a bit big for the field). There are loads of information (basic and advanced) on each fungus and of particular interest to me: The common name of most of the fungi is included. Our fungi have been named with elaborate and humorous names which I find easier to remember than the Latin name. I mainly have a culinary interest in mushrooms and this has great notes on edibility and the fact that you need to know which ones CAN'T be eaten, so congratulations on a truly great piece of work.

Excellent Photographs

Roger Phillips is the author of a number of books including ones on Wild Food, Wild Flowers, Trees and Grasses among others. The photographs in this book are of excellent quality and this really is essential, particularly for those who are using the book to identify the edible forms of the mushroom of which there are many more than most people think.

The book differentiates quite clearly between those fungi that are edible and those that are not. It also gives the medicinal properties of many of them. I enjoy spotting different ones when I am out walking but I prefer to err on the side of caution and buy mine from the supermarket. However I do know that in France they are much more adventurous regarding their eating of fungi and good luck to them.

Now the best guide available to British fungi
I bought Phillips' pioneering "Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe" when it came out in the early 1980s for identifying British fungi. At the time it was revolutionary in the use of photographs that allowed the author to depict mushrooms much more accurately than the paintings of earlier guides. Until recently, it was still one of the top field guides to this region (also check Courtecuisse & Duhem, and Jordan [ISBN 0002200252]). I still use this volume a lot for identifying American fungi, both in the tropics and northward. Although I have over 200 field guides of different sorts on my shelves this remains one of my all time favourites.

This current book, Mushrooms (ISBN 0330442376), supersedes the older Phillips guide. It follows the format of the original book quite closely, but is now slightly smaller to make it more of a field guide - about the same size as Skinner's "Moths of the British Isles" (ISBN 0670803545) and, although still won't fit into a pocket, it is much more manageable than the older A4-sized book. There are 1,250 photographs, all of the excellent quality one associates with the author. Some 200 extra species are treated. Taxonomy and text has been brought up to date and into line with the standard taxonomy and nomenclature of lists published by the British Mycological Society.

If you're interested in fungi, don't hesitate - this book must be on your shelves. When you consider how much work went into this project, this represents tremendous value for money.

Chris Sharpe, 8 September 2006. ISBN: 0330442376