Finished reading: Fantastic Fungi by Paul Stamets 📚
As part of my new interest in mycology, I read the book by the supposed granddaddy of the field.
If you’ve watched the documentary on Netflix, this book is what started it all. Lately, I’m trying to read more about the perspectives of Indigenous people on mycology and nature, and their relationships with the mostly settler types who participate in mycology, whether in foraging, creating enterprises, or even in healing. I’m starting to develop a more critical view of some of the more well known faces in mycology.
The book is a little disjointed, in that it presents many different perspectives from all types of people who are in the field, some interested in the healing properties, some in the climate change fixing possibilities, some in the psychedelic aspects. I found myself most interested in the essays written by activists from other parts of the world, like the one from Chile who is working to see how mushrooms can help create interesting solutions for climate change, but am largely meh about an approach that is too psychedelic-focused.
