Entangled Life: How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures is a 2020 non-fiction book on mycology by British biologistMerlin Sheldrake. His first book,[1][2][3] it was published by Random House on 12 May 2020.[4]
The book looks at fungi from a number of angles, including decomposition, fermentation, nutrient distribution, psilocybin production, the evolutionary role fungi play in plants, and the ways in which humans relate to the fungal kingdom.[1][8][10][11] It uses music and philosophy to illustrate its thesis,[12] and introduces readers to a number of central strands of research on mycology.[13] It is also a personal account of Sheldrake's experiences with fungi.[10]
Reception
The book was published to largely positive reviews. According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on 22 critic reviews with 16 being "rave" and 5 being "positive" and 1 being "mixed".[14] In Books in the Media, a site that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.53 out of 5) from the site which was based on 7 critic reviews. [15]
Jennifer Szalai of The New York Times called the book an "ebullient and ambitious exploration" of fungi, adding, "reading it left me not just moved but altered, eager to disseminate its message of what fungi can do."[1]Eugenia Bone of The Wall Street Journal called it "a gorgeous book of literary nature writing in the tradition of [Robert] Macfarlane and John Fowles, ripe with insight and erudition."[8]Rachel Cooke of The Observer called it "an astonishing book that could alter our perceptions of fungi forever."[6] Richard Kerridge, reviewing the book in The Guardian, wrote that "when we look closely [at fungi], we meet large, unsettling questions... [Sheldrake] carries us easily into these questions with ebullience and precision."[12]
