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Ten Books Every Mushroom Lover Should Read
Len Tinula
Ok, so you’re an amateur mycologist, a mycophagist, or you just love mushrooms for their colors, their beauty, their mystery, what books should you read? Well here are a few suggestions from our in house resident mycologist, Lenny.
Which should be the first book suggested? Who can we insult by not naming them first? No one, as most of the authors are gone, and the ones that survive will probably agree with us, and besides, this is not a popularity contest, just a list of books. Here is our list, not particularly in order of importance. Number one: The Romance of the Fungus World.
This is a sheer pleasure to read. It is not intended to be a field guide, just an appreciation of all things fungi. You will learn about varied topics such as how many mushrooms and what kinds were collected throughout Europe in the early century, the first mushroom mentioned by the early Romans to eat, what boletari are and much more. Don’t know what boletari are? Read the book! Ok, I’ll tell you. The Romans believed Boletus edulis was only fit for a king, so they had special vessels used only for cooking boletes, such was their esteem for the mushrooms.
The lore of morels is elucidated and why laws had to be passed to prevent the burning of forests for the sole purpose of reaping a bountiful harvest of morels. That has all been precluded nowadays as the econazis prevent forest management to the point that yearly fires in western states do what German royalty tried to prevent—but I digress. Sorry if you cannot find the book, I have my own and I don’t lend it out as I learned the hard way that loaned books never come back.
Rolfe, R. T., F. W. Rolfe. 1925. The Romance of the Fungus World. Chapman and Hall. London, England. 309 pages.
Number two. Mushrooms Russia and History. Wasson, V.P., and R. G Wasson. Many readers will probably have heard of this book in the far reaches of their mind, but never actually attempted to come close to it for reasons you will soon learn.
How to start with an absolute gem of a book, a very large gem? Let me start by saying this is an absolute scholarly masterpiece of writing, art, and research. There were only 535 original copies printed in 1957 for the then extravagant price of $125. Today it fetches thousands, with one recent quote at $14,000. The book is exquisitely and lavishly printed with every 25th page bearing a watermark of the Italian printer. It is now available online but nothing matches the sheer elegance, beauty, and pleasure of having it in your hand and seeing the incredible artwork.
The work is Wasson’s magnum opus, despite his other works published later, all of which were equally done in similar de rigeur fashion. These include Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality, Mycolatry in Mesoamerica, and Maria Sabina and Her Mazatec Velada.
Mushrooms Russia And History is a collaborative effort between Wasson, a New York banker, and his wife, Valintina, a physician. You would think it was Wasson’s idea for the book but that was not the case. Wasson was a mycophobe, it was his wife on their wedding night that introduced him to mycology, or more precisely, mushrooms. Here is the account of Robert Graves from the August 1957 Atlantic: “and in 1927 Gordon Wasson, a native American, on his honeymoon in the Catskills with Valentina Pavlovna Wasson, a beautiful young Russian émigrée, had to take a momentous marital decision. He saw his bride go down on her knees with joyful cries of “Lisishki, lisishki!” before a colony of nasty toadstools, and fill her handkerchief with them! “Throw them away at once, they are deadly poison,” he pleaded. But a bride has her privileges, and that night, of course, he nobly ate the dish she prepared — consoled only by the thought that they would at least die together.”
Well they did not die after eating those Lisishki (chanterelles), and went on to write the book.
One interesting chapter of their research deals with the untimely death, rather murder, of the Roman emperor Claudius by his wife Agrippina to allow her son, Nero, to take the throne. Agrippina gave Claudius a dish of his favorite mushroom, the aptly named Amanita caesarea, spiked with the juice of another Amanita—the deadly Amanita phalloides. Claudius succumbed to his last meal the next day. There is a little twist to the tale as the deadly Amanita does not kill that fast, and besides, Claudius had copious amounts of wine with the meal and threw up his repast that night. It appears Agrippina enlisted another conspirator to finish the task. The final death blow was administered by Xenophon, the imperial physician. He gave Claudius a fatal dose of colocynth by enema, and Nero ascended the throne.
The book is beautifully done with magnificent color drawings. It covers a plethora of topics with an extensive etymology of European mushroom names. All told, a beautiful book and definitely a worthy read. Another author of a book on this list includes it in his bibliography. He did his homework.
Wasson, V.P., and R. G Wasson. 1957. Mushrooms Russia and History. Pantheon Books. New York, N.Y. USA. Two volume set with slip covers.
Number three. Krieger, Louis C. C. 1967. The Mushroom Handbook. This is a Dover reprint of the original 1911 first edition. At the time, Krieger was known as “America’s mycologist.” The book is easy to read, covers nearly every aspect of mushroom hunting and is easily obtained in soft cover. It really should be anyone’s first foray into the field of wild mushrooms. Please contact me if you find the original, I’ll buy it.
Krieger, Louis C. C. 1967. The Mushroom Handbook. Dover Publications. New York, N.Y. USA. 560 pages, soft cover.
Number four. A book by Alexander Smith, the man arguably responsible for the American mushroom renaissance. The Mushroom Hunter’s Field Guide. This was not Smith’s first book on mushrooms, not his best, but it laid the groundwork for many other authors and books to follow. Undoubtedly his best and most sought after is his 1949, Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats. The book includes 33 stereoscopic reels and a hand held viewer. It is impossible to find, doubly so with a complete set of reels.
The Mushroom Hunter’s Field guide is in black and white. An enlarged color version was published in 1980 in collaboration with his daughter, Nancy Weber Smith. The book is necessary reading in order to appreciate the evolution of mushroom field guides. After this publication, others came, fast and furious.
Smith, Alexander H. 1977. The Mushroom Hunter’s Field Guide The University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, Michigan. USA. 192 pages,
Number five. Orson K. Miller. Mushrooms of North America. This is one of those “fast and furious” titles that came after the previous selection. Orson studied under A. H. Smith and quickly became a much sought after speaker with his highly readable book. It was in full color with almost every mushroom entry having an accompanying picture. The pictures were great and the descriptions were well done with edibility a standout feature. Everyone who bought this in the northern climes could not wait for spring and summer to go looking for those marvelous edibles. A hardcover version was also published but is hard to find. This is one of the best of the genre. Miller, Orson K. 1977. Mushrooms of North America. E. P. Dutton. New York, N.Y. USA. 368 pages, soft cover.
Number six. David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified. Another book that quickly followed the previous title. The first edition was in 1979. It has since been republished several times, expanded and enlarged with colored pictures, while the first edition was in black and white. Anyone living on the west coast found this book absolutely necessary as a field guide. It is very well done but even the most recent edition does not have a color entry for every mushroom. David did a great job and even cited Wasson’s seminal book in his bibliography.
Arora, David. 1979. Mushrooms Demystified. Ten Speed Press. Berkeley, CA. 668 pages, hardcover.
Number seven. Gary Lincoff, The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. This book is also a must have for every serious mushroom hunter. Gary taught at The Bronx botanical glardens for over 30 years and this was his first entry into the world of mushrooms. The book sold over half a million copies and continues to be a bestseller in mycological circles. Gary had the seemingly impossible task of giving a common name to the more than 700 species listed, something the publisher insisted on. Gary once gave a lecture to the Michigan Morel Hunters Club in the early 1980’s and Alexander Smith was in the audience. On presenting a slide which Gary described as an agaric, Smith interrupted and said that the mushroom had pores. Lincoff quickly recovered and wryly responded; “I assure you those were not there this morning.” A great book.
Lincoff, Gary. 1981. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. N.Y. USA. 928 pages. Soft cover.
Number eight. E. C. Large, The Advance of the Fungi. This is a fantastic book, but looking at it makes you wonder. A drab green hardcover, no centerfold or color pictures, the book fits the description of a college text that students only skimmed through. Once beyond the old adage of “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” you realize this is a gem. It covers so many aspects of fungi you won’t find in one place elsewhere. Who was Tulasne? You will find out and why one of the few plates in the book are by Tulasne, and are “one of the finest ever made,” as Large states. Phytophthora. infestans and the Irish potato famine are covered, and what was the Bordeaux mixture, its importance and how it was discovered by accident. He even tells you its application strength at two parts per million. Why we no longer have the American chestnut, and so much more is covered in superlative prose. Get it, read it, and be knowledgeable in discussing fungi. It has recently been reissued and is readily available online.
Large, E.C. 1940. The Advance of the Fungi. Henry Holt & company. N.Y., New York, USA. 488 pages, hardcover.
Number nine. Georges Becker, Roland Sabatier. Le Gratin des Champignons. No one, I repeat, no one has heard of this delightful book written in French. It is actually a sublime, whimsical and rather iconoclastic look at fungi, illustrated with superb color pictures, or shall I say parodies of mushrooms. While its irreverent take on mushrooms is classic, it is also a true mycological text with every entry noted with spore dimensions and other data. Find it if you can and enjoy a unique take on mushrooms
Becker, Georges, Roland Sabatier. 1986. Le Gratin des Champignons. Editions Jacques Glenat et Roland Sabatier. France. 224 pages, hard cover. written by the honorary president of the French mycological society.
Number ten. Jane Grigson, The Mushroom Feast. What would a list of mushroom books be without a book on cooking them? There are hundreds of books on how to cook mushrooms, but this is one of the best. Jane takes you through all the best edibles with fine recipes, some simple, some not so, but all worthy of reading and cooking. She knew her mushrooms and knew how to cook.
Grigson, Jane. 1983. The Mushroom Feast. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, N.Y. USA. 305 pages plus index.
Number eleven. Wait, you said “ten books on mushrooms!” Yes I can count, but who is counting? I have a few others to note and a few honorable mentions. Don’t like it? Stop reading!
G.C. Ainsworth, Ainsworth & Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi. An extensive dictionary navigating through the arcane and obscure jargon and nomenclature of fungi. No true mycologist should be without this book.
Ainsworth, G.C. 1971. Ainsworth & Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi. Commonwealth Mycological Institute. Kew, England. 663 pages. Hardcover.
Number 12. John Ramsbottom, Mushrooms and Toadstools. A great book to read on the lore of mushrooms. The book even covers growing mushrooms and one amendment to add that no one mentions. Ramsbottom wrote the preface to book number one. Ok, no more on this book as you complained after number ten!
Ramsbottom, John. 1953. Mushrooms and Toadstools. Collins. London, England. 306 pages, hardcover.
Honorable mentions. These entries would be included in my previous list, but you already complained I went beyond the stated number. Too bad! These are wonderful books but you might have a problem obtaining them. Take a gander…
California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Hardcover. Wood, Desjardin, Stephens. A great book with marvelous pictures. Over 650 species covered. August, 2015. Should have included it in our “ten,” but too late now. Easy to find, despite my previous statement.
Breitenbach, J., F. Kranzlin, Fungi of Switzerland. There are six volumes to this 1984 treatise on mushrooms. It was done very nicely with each fungus having a colored picture, not always a great picture, but one regardless. Six volumes were published, on ascomycetes, agarics, non-gilled mushrooms and a few others I cannot remember. Yes I have them all and could look it up, but you already complained I went beyond the ten! Six volumes total will cost you at least a thousand dollars to add to your mycological library, which every true mycophile should have.
Wasson, Mushrooms Russia, and History. Wait, This was already listed—just wanted to see if you were still reading! Can’t take a joke?
Carluccio, Antonio. 2003. The Complete Mushroom Book. Quadrille Publishing, Limited. London, England. 224 pages. A beautiful book by a British chef who knew his mushrooms. ‘Nuff said.
Philips, Roger. 1981. Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain. Pan Books. 288 pages. Roger also did one for North America. He published a few of these books and all were done very well.
Rolland, Leon. 1910. Atlas des Champignons de France, Suisse et Belgique. Libraire des Sciences Naturelles. Paris. 120 chromolithographic plates. A. Bessin, illustrator. An absolutely beautiful book with incredible chromolithographs; this is priceless. First and only edition of this rare, attractive, and interesting book. Includes a descriptive text (128 pages) and 120 beautiful colored plates, illustrating 283 species of mushrooms. The text describes each species, and gives cooking tips for the edible varieties. Printed on excellent paper. 4to. Contemporary quarter morocco and marbled boards. Chromolithographs?
So you have never heard of a chromolithograph? Explanations may be forthcoming but just know that in terms of pictures and chromolithographs, this is one of the finest books ever published. Available online for the pictures, but having it in your hand and looking at the pictures is beyond belief. Good luck finding it.
So that is a great list, many more could and should be added.
Ok. I could go on but enough of your complaining. The world has too many books, and that is what John said at the end of Revelation.♦