The “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake is a book about fungi and its effect in the world. As many people learn when they take biology in high school, nature and ecosystems are truly connected. In his book, Sheldrake brilliantly explores the networks that fungi use to communicate with each other.
Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist with a PHD in tropical ecology. His studies of various environmental sciences allow him to demonstrate the wonders of nature in great detail.
Bobbi Callison, an environmental volunteer says, “One of the most interesting and informative books on nature that I have ever read. Every time I’m out in the garden or on a hike I think about the connections going on under my feet between fungus and algae with the plants that I am looking at. It boggles my mind to realize how mycelium and hyphae can receive messages to make future decisions about where nutrients move between plants and store that information. Our brains make these same kinds of decisions!
The uses or micro fabrication of mushrooms is incredible. It could take over the role of some plastics in packaging as well as aiding in oil spills, furniture and drugs.”
About fungi, Sheldrake writes on his website, “They are inside you and around you. They sustain you and all that you depend on. As you read these words, fungi are changing the way that life happens, as they have done for more than a billion years. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel and behave.”
The book is truly a fantastic read, and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!
By EVs, Tamara Hillman and Bobbi Callison
Looking for more fun fungi info – check these out:
Merlin Sheldrake eats his book!
TED talk Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy – Six ways that mushrooms can save the world
Beatrix Potter pioneering scientist or passionate amateur
How can parents & caregivers do to introduce kids to the wonders of mycology
Spragg, Bernard. Bracket fungi. Wikimedia Commons. 2015. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bracket_fungi._(18381491456).jpg
Spragg, Bernard. Jelly Fungi. Wikimedia Commons. 2013. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jelly_Fungi_(8908606688).jpg