“Fans of Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life and Suzanne Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree will enjoy Seifert’s latest... A perspective-shifting guide to our microfungal matrix.”—KirkusEven though we can’t always see them, fungi exist all around us. From forests and farms to food and medicine—and even our homes and bodies—fungal connections shape how we live.In this illuminating book, readers will “discover how these marvels of nature enrich (and sometimes threaten) our lives.”(Peter Wohlleben,
New York Times-bestselling author of
The Hidden Life of Trees.
Esteemed career mycologist Keith Seifert reveals the important role that microscopic fungi, including yeasts, molds, and slimes, play in our lives, all while remaining invisible to the naked eye. Divided into sections, each one exploring a different environment where fungi thrive,
The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi introduces readers to the fascinating world of mycology, with information on:
- How fungi are at the heart of life-changing medical breakthroughs, including the development of antibiotics such as penicillin and organ transplant drugs.
- Where fungi live in our homes and how they influence our health, from our gut to our scalps.
- How fungi add important vitamins to our diet and make our favorite foods and drinks possible, including wine, cheese, chocolate, and beer.
- The essential role fungi are playing in innovative technologies, such as creating alternative energy sources, reducing plastic pollution, cleaning up toxins from oil spills, and even building architecture for a Mars colony.
Despite their many benefits, we hold a precarious relationship with fungi: fungal diseases lead to over 1 million deaths each year, and they have played a destructive role in disasters ranging from the Irish Potato Famine to possibly even the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi urges us to better understand our relationship with fungi—and to plan our future with them in mind—while revealing their world in all its beautiful complexity.
"For readers of Entangled Life and The Hidden Life of Trees comes an illuminating account of the "invisible" fungi that share our world: from the air we breathe to the dust beneath our feet. The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi traces the intricate connections between fungi and all life on Earth to show how these remarkable microbes enrich our lives: from releasing the carbon in plants for the benefit of all organisms to transmitting information between trees, to producing life-changing medicine, to adding umami flavor and B vitamins to our food. Divided into sections, each one exploring an environment where fungi live, this enthralling, science-backed book ventures into our homes, bodies, farms, and forests to profile the fungi that inhabit these environments, most of them invisible to the naked eye. Along the way, the author, the esteemed career mycologist Keith Seifert, explains the latest research into where these fungi came from: how yeast, lichens, slimes, and molds evolved and adapted over millions of years. And he shows us that, surprisingly, fungi share almost a quarter of human genes. We may have more in common with yeast and slime than we think ... But not all fungi are good for us. In fact, fungal diseases lead to over 1 million deaths each year and more than a quarter of our food goes to waste. How can we strike a better balance with our microbial cousins, both for their sake and ours? The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi urges us to better understand our relationship with fungi--and to plan our future with them in mind--while revealing their world in all its beautiful complexity."--
"Seifert, in this fascinating, engaging, and approachable work, provides an improved understanding of how fungi surround and affect our lives."—Booklist
“Explore the complex and ingenious ecosystems where fungi are found and discover how these marvels of nature enrich (and sometimes threaten) our lives.”
—Peter Wohlleben, New York Times-bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees
“If you are interested in mushrooms, like so many people are these days, but want to delve deeper than the headlines, this is the book for you.”
—Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia and former president of the New York Mycological Society
“Delightful … A wide-eyed grand tour of [an] alien world [that] makes me love these multi-gendered, cell-wall-having, network-forming bugs all the more.”
—Adam Rogers, senior correspondent at Wired and author of Full Spectrum: How the Science of Color Made Us Modern and Proof: The Science of Booze
“Flat-out fabulous.[The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi is] an enlightening introduction to fungi, yes, but it’s also a real page-turner. Dr. Seifert is a spectacularly skilled writer. He truly puts the fun in fungi.”
—Andy MacKinnon, author of Alpine Plants of the Northwest
“An authoritative and gripping exposé of fungi… with an exciting vision of how they might contribute to a more sustainable Earth. This book will increase your respect for fungi and could challenge your view of the world—inside and on you, your home, and outdoors.”
—David L. Hawksworth, Hon. President, International Mycological Association
“Keith’s robust knowledge of mycology weaves through each chapter in a thorough compilation of compelling facts, helpful citations, and fungi-filled anecdotes—seamlessly reminding the reader of just how integral fungi are to both the natural and human-designed world. For any fungi-enthusiast seeking greater clarity on the many ways that molds and mushrooms shape the world around us, this book is an excellent addition to the modern mycologist’s library.”
—Peter McCoy, author of Radical Mycology: A Treatise on Seeing & Working With Fungi
