100 Edible Mushrooms

This is only the latest addition to my mushroom library, which now totals about 8 books. A lot of the best mushroom book seem to be focused on the Pacific Northwest, so it was nice to find one that concentrates on my part of the country. The photos are excellent, as are the descriptions, and the detailed warnings. It's a tad big for use as a field guide, but it's great reference and an enjoyable read. Just browsing through you'll pick up a lot of useful information and learn to recognize a number of varieties. Interestingly, the author states that he doesn't consumer a lot of wild mushrooms, perhaps because he's had a few bad experiences with "edible" mushrooms.The book begins with warnings and descriptions of toxic mushrooms, including many that might be confused with popular edibles. Curiously, the first mushrooms described are those you can find in the supermarket. That may seem odd, but Kuo has a very good reason for doing this. He wants you to get a sample of mushrooms that are absolutely, positively identified, and then study them to really learn about distinguishing features. Brilliant, really. The wild mushrooms themselves are divided into good beginner mushrooms, those requiring some experience, and the "difficult' ones- those best picked by experts only.There's some disagreement between experts on what constitute good beginner mushrooms- for instance Kuo puts the Hen of theWoods into the middle category, whereas many authors consider it a good beginners mushroom- but Kuo errs on the side of caution, and I think that's a good idea. He also warns against falling into the trap of becoming too bold, and too adventurous, like those who take pride in eating the non-toxic Amanitas. That's a dangerous game to play, even for experts. Kuo admits that he really had to push it to find 100 edible mushrooms. Of those listed, many aren't really choice, or even desirable to eat. Perhaps a book entitle "43 Edible Mushrooms" would be more useful, but it probably wouldn't sell as well.All in all a very attractive, wittily written, and useful book, and a fine addition to any Midwesterner's mushroom library.

I bought this book quite a while ago and added it to my stacks of books on all things fungal. It has turned out to be my absolute best go-to book on mushrooms. It is written clearly for readers of all level of knowledge on the topic, in a well organized and enjoyable format and style that covers every facet of the topic.There is a small group of recipes toward the end of the book. I'm no cook and would normally never even glance at a recipe that called for a dough or crust of any kind. However, when it says things like, "...stirring quickly with your index finger in a spiral fashion from inside to outer edge to make a dough," even I could follow such directions. Immediately following the recipes is a pair of photos of an ancient headstone, showing the inscription, "Poisoned by eating Fungi..." How could the reader not chuckle at that?!I could go on and on but will finish with an aspect I especially appreciated. No book is helpful as a resource without a good glossary and index. "100 Edible Mushrooms" has it!

I am very excited about this highly suggested book on mushrooms. However, the copy I received was sadly not in good shape. It came wrapped in stretch film, but it must have been exposed to some liquid at some point as the pages are all attached at the upper corner and need to be torn off to view the pages. Pictured. I wouldn’t mind a new copy :o) I will be looking into returning this item.Edit: got a new copy sent immediately that was in good shape. Thank you.

An amateur mycologist and mushroom hunter, I rely heavily on several books for mushroom ID and information. As far as edible mushroom books go, this is the best I own and have seen. Excellent color photos, robust detail and information, thoughtfully laid out, nothing but positive things to say about this. Every mushroom hunter, every forager requires several cross reference books. The variance between mushroom appearance, books, and info requires a 'consensus' to properly ID. If you intend to forage mushrooms for the table, this book is a MUST own.

It's an okay book but it won't tell you whether a mushroom is edible or not.

Typical Michael Kuo. Delightful, yet detailed, writing with a touch of humor to hold your interest. He admits in the text that he had to "scrape the bottom of the edibility barrel" to get the number to 100. I suppose he could have left it at 50, but stretching it to 100 at least gives you some idea of those mushrooms you might as well not bother with. I also like the way he laid the book out starting with easy to identify species, including those you can buy at the store, through those only experienced 'shroomers should try. I did read a review where someone cited a "lack" of recipes. I'm guessing that person wanted a cookbook and not a mushroom identification book, which this is. There are enough recipes here to get you going. And what is a recipe other than, once you learn how to make it, an invitation to experiment!

Excellent book! Highly recommend! Especially to those mushroom lovers who live in the Northwest since there is some bias toward mushrooms of that area in this book. Nevertheless, the majority of species presented here grows all over the U.S. No single book has yet been written to include all information needed for identification of everything. And this book doesn't cover everything but it's very well written and helpful. In spite of limited amount of species described here, the book provides a good "ABC" of mushroom identification - hardly have I seen anything better elsewhere. So I see this book as a must for a novice in mushroom hunting. And not only for a novice... At first, I was a little disappointed with this book but the more I read it the more I value it. My only complaint: I wish some pictures were somewhat better. But still 5 stars without hesitation.