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ruttery's review against another edition
3.0
I did enjoy the style of writing of this book, with the whimsical anecdotes, and have captured a few handy tips from it that I didn't know, such as that fresh beech leaves are edible. It's also the source of my lockdown beech noyau liqueur, which was a delicious find! It's one to pick up throughout the year really rather than read cover to cover. I would probably give it 3.5 stars as I did enjoy it and can tell the author is really knowledgeable, I just wouldn't use it as an ID guide.
The only reason I don't rate it higher is for a couple of reasons: 1.) the poisonous species are added as a bit of an afterword at the end. Although there are a lot of beginner-friendly mushroom edibles that look nothing like poisonous species (and I think these are great to include), the world of fungi is VAST, and I don't think there was anywhere near enough ID comparisons given to comparing edible vs. non-edible vs. deadly poisonous. I get that it's a toss-up between being layman-friendly and anecdotal vs. being overly scientific and off-putting. Brits in particular are very on the cautious side compared to our European counterparts with regards to foraging. But on the other hand I think British people are more disconnected with the natural world and I hear of a lot of people getting into mushroom foraging with very little knowledge of ID features, based on "oh it looks kinda like that one", which is a bit risky in my mind. I really think the poisonous species have to be covered on the same page as their lookalikes, not a couple of hundred pages later at the end of the book. The details and photos provided on identifying less well known fungi and plants are rather sparse (and plants can be just as deadly).
The other reason is that in one section, the author alludes to a local nature reserve not being terribly happy with his foraging of rare species there. Fungi do reproduce via spores which are able to do so even when picked, so one or two people here and there shouldn't really be a huge problem. But he then advertises the name of the nature reserve to the entire book. Personally, and I know opinions differ on this, but I would keep foraging spots as locally-kept knowledge rather than widely advertise it in a book. Part of the fun of foraging is in getting out there and discovering things yourself rather than using the 'cheat codes'
The only reason I don't rate it higher is for a couple of reasons: 1.) the poisonous species are added as a bit of an afterword at the end. Although there are a lot of beginner-friendly mushroom edibles that look nothing like poisonous species (and I think these are great to include), the world of fungi is VAST, and I don't think there was anywhere near enough ID comparisons given to comparing edible vs. non-edible vs. deadly poisonous. I get that it's a toss-up between being layman-friendly and anecdotal vs. being overly scientific and off-putting. Brits in particular are very on the cautious side compared to our European counterparts with regards to foraging. But on the other hand I think British people are more disconnected with the natural world and I hear of a lot of people getting into mushroom foraging with very little knowledge of ID features, based on "oh it looks kinda like that one", which is a bit risky in my mind. I really think the poisonous species have to be covered on the same page as their lookalikes, not a couple of hundred pages later at the end of the book. The details and photos provided on identifying less well known fungi and plants are rather sparse (and plants can be just as deadly).
The other reason is that in one section, the author alludes to a local nature reserve not being terribly happy with his foraging of rare species there. Fungi do reproduce via spores which are able to do so even when picked, so one or two people here and there shouldn't really be a huge problem. But he then advertises the name of the nature reserve to the entire book. Personally, and I know opinions differ on this, but I would keep foraging spots as locally-kept knowledge rather than widely advertise it in a book. Part of the fun of foraging is in getting out there and discovering things yourself rather than using the 'cheat codes'
kaylo88's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute must for anyone interested in foraging or nature in general. I borrowed this book from the library but you can be sure that I'll be buying one too.
knitswithbeer's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book, if slightly scary in places. Still, better scared and careful than dead.
bigbeardedbookseller's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this up at one of our local shops in Barnard Castle, Oswell’s, as I always try to buy something whenever we visit and there’s usually a great little book selection about nature and the countryside.
I pretty much read this in two sittings it was that fascinating, especially since we had started to go out walking more due to the lockdown and had started trying to identify more fungi, plants, and animals on those walks.
The seasonal breakdown of the foraging guide makes it really handy and helps so much with identification as it separates species that may look similar and tells you when the most likely time for them to be more populous.
John Wright’s writing style is also really easy going but authoritative and helps with making you feel at ease with the subject and not overwhelmed as some foraging guides have made me feel in the past, it’s almost as though he’s there with you.
John is very good at pointing out the dangers inherent in foraging and the risks of misidentification and there’s a really good selection at the back of the book on poisonous species which I’ve read a couple of times.
Another keeper which hopefully will help me harvest more than wild garlic in this coming year.
I pretty much read this in two sittings it was that fascinating, especially since we had started to go out walking more due to the lockdown and had started trying to identify more fungi, plants, and animals on those walks.
The seasonal breakdown of the foraging guide makes it really handy and helps so much with identification as it separates species that may look similar and tells you when the most likely time for them to be more populous.
John Wright’s writing style is also really easy going but authoritative and helps with making you feel at ease with the subject and not overwhelmed as some foraging guides have made me feel in the past, it’s almost as though he’s there with you.
John is very good at pointing out the dangers inherent in foraging and the risks of misidentification and there’s a really good selection at the back of the book on poisonous species which I’ve read a couple of times.
Another keeper which hopefully will help me harvest more than wild garlic in this coming year.