Review by Choice Review
The subtitle of this magnificent tome on mushrooms and other macrofungi describes its content. This is not a general mycology text, a survey of the fungi, a field guide, or a coffee-table picture book. Instead, experienced mycologists Roberts and Evans have produced a compilation of an amazing variety of excellent, actual size, full-color photographs and descriptions of 600 macrofungi, including some lichens. This systematic listing of selected fungi includes the scientific and common names, with information about family, world distribution, habitat, associations, growth form, abundance, spore color, and edibility. Distinguishing characteristics are listed for similar species. These fungi, mostly Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, are arranged in the fashion of a field guide; individuals within each group are alphabetized by scientific name using current nomenclature. The photograph of each fungus is extracted from its environment and presented without distractions on the page. This book will clearly be a desired acquisition for all mushroom hunters, both amateur and experienced. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and professionals. K. M. Foos emeritus, Indiana University East
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by New York Times Review
Sarah Hayden Reichard has written a modest and unassuming but powerful book, THE CONSCIENTIOUS GARDENER: Cultivating a Garden Ethic (University of California Press, $27.50), arguing that gardeners should be on the front line when it comes to recognizing the interconnection of mankind and nature. "Practices and products," she writes, have crept into the craft of gardening "that decrease its long-term sustainability." I, for one, will never again resort to pesticides or peat moss after reading her book. Reichard's chapter on soil, "the skin of the earth," is an excellent refresher for any gardener. There are 20,000 identified types of soil in the United States alone. Dirt may even be the new Prozac. Both Reichard and Owens mention that working the soil might alleviate depression: a specific soil bacterium has been found to activate serotonin-releasing neurons. Which would, at the very least, explain why more gardeners don't throw down their shovels and quit.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 5, 2011]
