I really enjoyed this book about identifying wild mushrooms that are okay to eat. I learned a couple of new things about cooking and keeping mushrooms. First, you need to clean off excess dirt, etc. and then store in a paper bag in your crisper for 3-5 days before using them. Second, mushrooms should not be eaten raw (with the exception of the Shitake mushroom) because bacteria can grow so quickly on them. I would take this book with me if I ever go foraging for mushrooms in the wild. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

I found this book to be very fun and helpful for a starter guide, but I do not feel quite confident enough to start foraging myself. I feel as though this book could be more useful for those a bit more experienced than myself, starting from zero. I do like the way that it seems less intimidating, almost as though "anyone can do it!".

I got this book from netgalley as a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was helpful and descriptive with how to really understand the differences in mushrooms and how to navigate and forage properly, without accidentally risking death.

Always love a good mushroom book. The photos in this book are beautiful, the writing is well done, and the language is perfect for those who are just learning about how to forage mushrooms to read and understand.

The book looks into how to do more than find and identify mushrooms. Once you pick them you need to know how to properly store and prepare them and this book helps you navigate them all. This book is a great resource for the average person and the local libraries.

How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying - An absolute beginner’s guide to identifying 29 wild, edible mushrooms, is a book with a fantastic title by Frank Hyman.
It’s a visually very appealing book, with beautiful photo and a lovely design that makes it feel accessible even if you’ve never thought about foraging before.
It starts with a basic guide to what mushrooms are, and moves on to provide tips for responsible foraging that won’t end up with you in hospital. There is a helpful section on mushrooms that grow on trees (with and without gills – don’t worry, you’ll learn what they are).
Most of us think about mushrooms as things that grow on the ground and follow the basic rules people of don’t touch any of them, especially the ones that look like they belong in a fairy story. If that’s you, the next chapter is perfect. It covers fungi with and without gills that grow on the ground, with a special section on what species to steer clear of. The book makes clear that good judgement will help you on your journey to becoming a confident mushroom hunter, and gives you all the guidance you’ll need to get there.
Beyond foraging
Foraging is only the start of the story. You also need to know what to do with them, as we pick wild foods in order to use them somehow - normally for eating! Hyman includes a chapter on cooking and preserving your haul so you can make the most of what you’ve found.
Finally, the book covers useful tools so you can go into the woods prepared, as well as further tips for growing in confidence and experience.
There are plenty of mushroom ID books but they tend to be written for people who already have an idea of what they are doing. For example, an alphabetical list is only useful if you already know their names! This book is different because it focuses on what you can easily spot while you are walking in the woods – the identification guide doesn’t rely on aroma or spore print colour because who knows what they are when you are going about your business in the forest?
It is accessible, fun, helpful, obviously written by someone who knows his stuff, and the perfect book to accompany you in a walk, even if you have no plans to pick and eat what you find. You’ll learn something and have fun looking!

This review first appeared on The Practical Forest School blog: https://thepracticalforestschool.com/forage-for-mushrooms/

I received an advance reader’s copy from Netgalley for this review.

A really good reference guide. However I still wouldn’t feel comfortable picking fungi without having in person tuition and reassurance!

I loved this little book on mushroom foraging! It changed the game for my mushroom adventures. I'm a new forager and it helped me understand how to safely identify mushrooms. While I do think I need more practice in the field, this book is incredibly helpful and I bring it with me on all foraging trips. Even the introduction was informative and was never bored reading this!

In the last few years, with the help of friends, I have been dipping my toe into foraging. So when I came across this book I was very excited. I enjoyed the short history of mushroom. Every mushroom that is talked about then has a picture. Which is very helpful so I know what to look for. I also thought it was interesting that leaving mushrooms out un refrigerated can make you as sick as eating raw meat that has been left out all night. It talks about all the different types of mushrooms and how to prepare them and store them. Also like rhymes to help remember if you should eat them or now
Plus the picture are just beautiful

I loved reading How to Forage for Mushrooms without Dying by Frank Hyman. So much background on foraging, identifying mushrooms and natural science. So much to learn about checking each aspect of the mushroom and detailed photos. Covers fungi in different areas and what to look for and look a-likes. For me personally this isn't enough of a guide to actually forage for mushrooms, but it has sparked a deep interest in getting out side and examining the mushrooms around my yard.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was written in an amusing style. I really enjoyed it! I could see using it as a nonfiction unit, or offering it as a choice to students who do not enjoy reading fiction novels. The tone would allow me to cover standards about authorial voice regardless of the genre.

This is exactly what the title says: a beginner-friendly guide to foraging for mushrooms with the knowledge you won’t poison yourself or end up on any psychedelic trips. I studied biology in college and the aspect I miss most about the academic environment is being out in the field learning things like this—it’s so rewarding to read this clear and useful guide and feel equipped with knowledge I can actually USE! I will be taking this on future hikes and outdoor journeys.

A handy guide with a droll name and readable style. Much appreciated reference and easy reading, will review the next time I'm hit by the urge to go wandering around outside sans fatalities.

This book is pretty much exactly what the title claims it is--it's not an exhaustive guide, but it covers all the good and bad mushrooms you're likely to find in North America.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a brilliant book. I loved reading it and it will be a great reference when we are out and about if we come across any fungi that we fancy having a try of. I don't need to worry about identifying puffballs as they grow in our garden, I am pleased to say.

It is a very attractive book to look at with good clear layout and photographs. It even includes guidance on the tools needed to go out and forage yourself.

The style and tone of the writing is easy to read and absorb. It is definitely not a boring text book and is one that many will find useful when out and about.

Absolutely fantastic book for those people, like me, who would like to learn to forage for themselves! I think it's must-have for anyone interested in the outdoors.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my review.

This is an excellent beginners' guide to starting understanding the process of foraging and recognizing safe/unsafe mushrooms. Easy to understand, easy to utilize the information, and easy to move from this to something a bit more advanced.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this work in exchange for my honest review.

*also, I apologize for the delay. Review posted in other places earlier, but I have been locked out of my NetGalley account until recently.

4.7 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/01/15/how-to-forage-for-mushrooms-without-dying-by-frank-hyman-review/

I don’t review a whole lot of guides.

In fact, I don’t review a whole lot of non-speculative fiction. Mostly what I read is science fiction or fantasy. Then come mysteries, thrillers, or young adult, which I do every now and then. Then the occasional horror, or adventure. Very occasionally I read science books, mostly astronomy or archaeology. The point is… Don’t think I’ve ever reviewed a guide before.

Well, this’ll be a first.

“How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying” is quite the mouthful, but most guides are. Yes, it even has a longer name—did you want to see that? Sigh, well. It’s “How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Identifying 29 Wild, Edible Mushrooms”. Now that’s a title. But again, most are. Otherwise they’ll be just one word, like “Change” or “Dust” or “Mushroom”, that sound cool and chic and all, but don’t actually explain what it is they focus on. Usually these will keep you in the dark until you’re halfway through—or have given up and moved on to something less abstract. This title here isn’t too abstract. In fact, it tells you exactly what this book is about, and what wisdom it hopes to impart. Namely, how to forage for mushrooms. Without dying.

Originally, I had just planned to review this by saying I’d foraged for mushrooms and not died. Problem is, I read this at the start of winter. And I live in the Rockies. Most mushrooms in this book aren’t found in the Rockies. Like, at all. The ones that are have seasonal availability, but uniformly aren’t present in winter. Except for Oyster Mushrooms. I know they grow in winter because I’ve found them before. The thing is, I’m not about to go out in the cold and snow just to find them. Guess I’m just not that dedicated. Plus I get cold easily.

I received a free ebook copy of this in exchange for an honest review. But… I liked what I saw so much that I wanted an actual print copy. To like, take with me. While foraging. (Also, I kinda thought that color pictures would be nice, and with mushrooms I don’t like to take chances.)

Luckily, the author of this doesn’t like taking unnecessary chances either. As such, he’s only included mushrooms that are easily identified, plentiful, and don’t share characteristics with any poisonous fungus. See, this isn’t an end-all guide. It’s very much a beginner’s guide—for beginners. I may have been foraging before, but I’m very much not an expert.

In the beginning, the author (Frank Hyman) explains the concept of mushrooms. Their structure, growth, reproduction—things like that. It’s all very basic, and he doesn’t go into great detail. Again, this is a <i>beginner’s</i> guide. If you want to know more, ask a mycologist. Or get a thicker book. Or both. After the chapter on getting to know mushrooms, there’s a “how to” chapter on foraging. It turns out that even with mushrooms that are edible, you need to be careful about how you cut them, store them, otherwise they might still make you sick. Three important points I picked up from this include: 1) if you’re not sure what it is, don’t eat it. This one seems straightforward, but bears repeating. Don’t eat it unless you’re as sure as sure can be. 2) even if you are sure you know what it is, only eat a little. At first, at least. If it doesn’t kill you, doesn’t make you sick, you can always try more. But there’s no reason to overdo it. In mycology, as in most things, a little caution can’t hurt. 3) try to store your mushrooms in a paper poke, or on ice. This will keep the fungus fresh longer. You know when you get mushrooms from the store and put them in the fridge for a few days and after a little, they get these soft, greyish, bad looking spots on them? Yeah, those are actually another kind of fungus or mold that can make you sick if you eat it raw. It’s more prevalent on wild mushrooms, but still. Anyway, there are more tips and tricks inside.

The third chapter gets to the heart of the matter. Foraging. Mushrooms. What to look for, how to identify, how to double-check, where to find and in what season, how to cut, cook, and preserve. The next three chapters deal with foragables—detailing different kinds of mushrooms and what will help you find them.

The next chapter is brief, but important. It shows you some commonplace, but vital, mushrooms to avoid. Ones that will make you sick if eaten. Or maybe even kill you. I would’ve liked to see this section farther away from the edible mushroom one, though it still slaps icons and X’s all over the place to help avoid confusion.

The next two chapters deal with cooking and preserving, and an overview of the various tools of the trade that will help with mushroom harvest. These are more of an afterthought to the beginner (to me, at least), as you can only get so into something before you’ve actually done it. Foraging comes first. If you’re serious about it, you can worry about the tools and the recipes later. The final chapter concerns where to go from here. If you enjoyed the book and the foraging, it suggests further guides, books, and reference materials. If you didn’t, well, you’ll still have this one guide in case you ever want to try again!

I’d definitely recommend this guide (though only so much as I haven’t used it in the field yet) to anyone interested in the basics of foraging. I’ll be sure and post a followup once I actually do use it in the field, but in this one case I think I can definitely say that I’d prefer the physical copy over the ebook. Ease of access is import here; being able to flip through the book without having to worry overly about the wet or damp or dirt (there are some nice water-resistant glossy pages in its paper form), but a more important aspect is the pictures themselves. My e-reader, while useful, doesn’t do color. I put a copy on my phone, but it wasn’t great for showing the whole picture, the text, and the detail in a helpful manner. A tablet would work, but would also be clunkier. Nope, I’d recommend the paper copy if you mean to use this in the field—without dying.

That’s it for now, but I’ll definitely get back to you after using this to forage in the wild. Hopefully still with no dying.

This one gets a double thumbs up from me, both for intent and structure. While it is primarily focused on text rather than images, it remains user friendly and easy to follow. Our time is not wasted with technical information that does not matter to the average user. And by focusing on common, easily identified species we don't get lost in options.

Exactly as advertise! I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to read and understand this guide. It is full of pictures and minimal jargon so the casually interested can find ample use of this book. I would highly recommend this book for any library collection given the explosion in interest of foraging that is occurring on the internet right now.

A must read for all mycology nerds.! Foraging can be a tricky business and this book is a perfect companion