Paperback, 448 pages
German language
Published Aug. 29, 2021 by Ullstein Verlag.
"Eines jener seltenen Bücher, die uns verzaubern und den Blick auf unsere Welt verändern." Helen MacDonald
Sie sind in der Erde, in der Luft, in unserem Körper. Pilze sind überall, aber man übersieht sie leicht. Sie halten uns am Leben, bauen Schadstoffe in der Atmosphäre ab und verändern das Verhalten von Tieren. Sie beeinflussen, wie wir Menschen fühlen und denken und sind für alle Lebensformen unverzichtbar. Sie existieren an der Grenze zwischen Leben und Tod. Der größte bekannte Pilz umfasst zehn Quadratkilometer, wiegt mehrere Hundert Tonnen und ist zwischen 2.000 und 8.000 Jahre alt. Pilze verfügen über eine eigene Intelligenz ohne zentrales Gehirn und können ihre Umwelt manipulieren. Merlin Sheldrake dringt ein in das verborgene Netzwerk der Pilze.
»Ein spektakuläres und erhellendes Buch. Ständig musste ich innehalten, fasziniert von der Welt der Pilze und von Sheldrakes bahnbrechenden Erkenntnissen.« Robert Macfarlane
»Ein abenteuerliches und wagemutiges Buch, das uns das geheime Leben …
"Eines jener seltenen Bücher, die uns verzaubern und den Blick auf unsere Welt verändern." Helen MacDonald
Sie sind in der Erde, in der Luft, in unserem Körper. Pilze sind überall, aber man übersieht sie leicht. Sie halten uns am Leben, bauen Schadstoffe in der Atmosphäre ab und verändern das Verhalten von Tieren. Sie beeinflussen, wie wir Menschen fühlen und denken und sind für alle Lebensformen unverzichtbar. Sie existieren an der Grenze zwischen Leben und Tod. Der größte bekannte Pilz umfasst zehn Quadratkilometer, wiegt mehrere Hundert Tonnen und ist zwischen 2.000 und 8.000 Jahre alt. Pilze verfügen über eine eigene Intelligenz ohne zentrales Gehirn und können ihre Umwelt manipulieren. Merlin Sheldrake dringt ein in das verborgene Netzwerk der Pilze.
»Ein spektakuläres und erhellendes Buch. Ständig musste ich innehalten, fasziniert von der Welt der Pilze und von Sheldrakes bahnbrechenden Erkenntnissen.« Robert Macfarlane
»Ein abenteuerliches und wagemutiges Buch, das uns das geheime Leben der Pilze näherbringt.« J. H. Prynne
It is hard to believe that something so embedded in life on earth is something so mysterious! I have lived on this earth 26 years and did not know almost anything this book discussed. It was an amazing book, and a bite sized introduction into mycology. Loved it!
Fungi are incredibly interesting and this book does them justice. It does an excellent job of describing their importance and the hidden connections between Fungi and plants, but also Fungi and humans. And it's written in a way that you feel close to the author, as he takes us on this journey.
I just wished there was more. More about different kinds of Fungi, more about recent science, about the importance of Fungi in different cultures etc. But I assume this is just no the scope and also not the ambition of this book, it's not meant to be an intro into mycology.
If I could I would give it 4.5 stars. It was very interesting and it made me want to dig more fungi related books, but it was not perfect. E.g. I felt a bit less invested than when reading "Never Home Alone" by Rob Dunn last …
Fungi are incredibly interesting and this book does them justice. It does an excellent job of describing their importance and the hidden connections between Fungi and plants, but also Fungi and humans. And it's written in a way that you feel close to the author, as he takes us on this journey.
I just wished there was more. More about different kinds of Fungi, more about recent science, about the importance of Fungi in different cultures etc. But I assume this is just no the scope and also not the ambition of this book, it's not meant to be an intro into mycology.
If I could I would give it 4.5 stars. It was very interesting and it made me want to dig more fungi related books, but it was not perfect. E.g. I felt a bit less invested than when reading "Never Home Alone" by Rob Dunn last year and which is another biology popular science book talking about life that is normal hidden from us. Not sure why I preferred that, maybe it's the quality of the prose, maybe it felt more scientific and more complete. So as a nitpicky German I feel hesitant to give a perfect score, so 4 it is. But I'll definitely watch out for new books from Merlin Sheldrake.
#fungi #books #entangledlife #merlinsheldrake #popularscience #biology
Fascinating book about fungi, filled with wonderful tidbits of information. One tip: If it seems to you like a book of this sort should have footnotes, you're close: it has endnotes in abundance, some as long as a full page; in others words, many are substantial, not just references.
It was really enlightening to learn about the incredible impact that fungus has on all parts of the world.
I was especially intrigued at how plant roots and mycelium work together. It was also very surprising to hear about the impressive effects that truffles have on humans. I hadn't known that they had such an effect on people.
Fascinating topic, and the book started off well, but for me it kind of fell apart and started getting repetitive.
rich in references, to the point that if one wants to follow them all it becomes an endless rabbit hole
