Nonfiction

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

  • Downloads：5028
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-18 13:57:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-14
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Merlin Sheldrake
  • ISBN：0525510311
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

There is a lifeform so strange and wondrous that it forces us to rethink how life works…

Neither plant nor animal， it is found throughout the earth， the air and our bodies。 It can be microscopic， yet also accounts for the largest organisms ever recorded， living for millennia and weighing tens of thousands of tonnes。 Its ability to digest rock enabled the first life on land， it can survive unprotected in space， and thrives amidst nuclear radiation。

In this captivating adventure， Merlin Sheldrake explores the spectacular and neglected world of fungi: endlessly surprising organisms that sustain nearly all living systems。 They can solve problems without a brain， stretching traditional definitions of ‘intelligence’， and can manipulate animal behaviour with devastating precision。 In giving us bread， alcohol and life-saving medicines， fungi have shaped human history， and their psychedelic properties， which have influenced societies since antiquity， have recently been shown to alleviate a number of mental illnesses。 The ability of fungi to digest plastic， explosives， pesticides and crude oil is being harnessed in break-through technologies， and the discovery that they connect plants in underground networks， the ‘Wood Wide Web’， is transforming the way we understand ecosystems。 Yet they live their lives largely out of sight， and over ninety percent of their species remain undocumented。

Entangled Life is a mind-altering journey into this hidden kingdom of life， and shows that fungi are key to understanding the planet on which we live， and the ways we think， feel and behave。 The more we learn about fungi， the less makes sense without them。

Download

Reviews

Rosemary ，

I just dipped into this。 Some fascinating information， but a bit meandering。

Aaron ，

Fungi are weird parts of the natural world because I don't think we evolved any mental units for them。 Like， we definitely know what fruits are and vegetables to a certain extent。 We like bright things in trees。 We have a theory of mind that we built for other humans， and we seem to be able to extend it and generalize it to other mammals and then birds and then maybe the other living things。 Yet， mushrooms are these weird things that can kill you or taste really good。 Yeast can make your piss h Fungi are weird parts of the natural world because I don't think we evolved any mental units for them。 Like， we definitely know what fruits are and vegetables to a certain extent。 We like bright things in trees。 We have a theory of mind that we built for other humans， and we seem to be able to extend it and generalize it to other mammals and then birds and then maybe the other living things。 Yet， mushrooms are these weird things that can kill you or taste really good。 Yeast can make your piss hurt like a fire or make the best liquids we can engineer。 We are not evolved enough for the fungi。Sheldrake attempts to get us there by a circuitous route: a mix of anecdote， review of materials， and only a little bit of explanation。Fungi are trashmen， taking out and recycling the natural worlds' shit。 They're the day traders， moving nutrients from one tree to another。 They're VCs， investing in the future canopies of tomorrow。 They're also hippie communes， bringing in many species until they merge into one。 They're also literally at hippie communes， being what may be considered the best drug of all time。 They're tiny microengineers， converting sugar into fun-poison。 If this is elucidating， great！ If it isn't， yeah， that makes sense。 Sheldrake constantly has to approach the fungi with metaphors of human society， and points out how the popular scientific literature uses the same metaphors。 Fish fins at least look a little like legs， and humans can be said to have the heart of a lion， but a glowing green slime on a map of the United States made out of sugar？ Yeah okay uhm thats like the 。。。 the。。。 interstate？ Cool okay cool。This alienness of a kingdom of life is kind of cool， but also problematic: it means that we haven't funded or learned enough about it。 It'd be like studying the ocean and not the atmosphere。 Sure， you need the first one to live， but the second one is invisible， so why look into it too hard？ Sheldrake talks about how this is very interesting because it opens up a huge door for Citizen Science^TM， and because we'll likely need to know more about fungi in order to make our agricultural system not planet-burning。 Of course， this knowledge also exists in indigenous spaces and by remergently contextualizing it， we can bring it to bear on world problemsOh， and the biggest take away is that magic mushrooms are probably okay to eat。 。。。more

Gabriela Bonfiglio ，

I learned a lot from this book， including that fungi can be trained to digest cigarette butts and other chemicals and produce healthy， edible mushrooms as a result？？ It's clear to me that fungi have a role to play in shaping our future。 I learned a lot from this book， including that fungi can be trained to digest cigarette butts and other chemicals and produce healthy， edible mushrooms as a result？？ It's clear to me that fungi have a role to play in shaping our future。 。。。more

Aditya Mundada ，

I am a Computer engineer and haven't touched Biology since high school （9 years）。 I don't even love eating mushrooms。 But this book is really fascinating。 It blew my mind and on several instances I was like "Wow！"。 It just makes you think differently and deeply。 I was a little apprehensive initially as I thought this book would be filled with a lot of scientific jargon which would be difficult to comprehend and understand。 But Sheldrake did a good job to keep it simple yet intriguing。It took me I am a Computer engineer and haven't touched Biology since high school （9 years）。 I don't even love eating mushrooms。 But this book is really fascinating。 It blew my mind and on several instances I was like "Wow！"。 It just makes you think differently and deeply。 I was a little apprehensive initially as I thought this book would be filled with a lot of scientific jargon which would be difficult to comprehend and understand。 But Sheldrake did a good job to keep it simple yet intriguing。It took me some time to finish this book because I had to Google various species and experiments mentioned for extra information （curiosity！）。It is definitely a fantastic read even if you don't have any prior knowledge about fungi。 Watch the 2019 documentary "Fantastic Fungi" after finishing this book！ 。。。more

Kelly ，

I would venture that most of us have thought little of fungi， but Sheldrake is obsessed。 He is philosophical and reflective about the ways that fungi challenge our animal-centric， （frankly human-centric）， individual-focused view of the world。 He's immersed himself both in scientific research into fungi but also into mycophilia in general。I knew of Sheldrake from the incredible Underland （Robert Macfarlane）。 I've also been reading about the "wood wide web，" and one thing that stood out to me in S I would venture that most of us have thought little of fungi， but Sheldrake is obsessed。 He is philosophical and reflective about the ways that fungi challenge our animal-centric， （frankly human-centric）， individual-focused view of the world。 He's immersed himself both in scientific research into fungi but also into mycophilia in general。I knew of Sheldrake from the incredible Underland （Robert Macfarlane）。 I've also been reading about the "wood wide web，" and one thing that stood out to me in Sheldrake's work is the way it supports but also challenges the wood wide web idea by placing fungi at the center。 For example， if one tree "gives" nutrients to another through the mycelial network， is that a form of socialism， altruism， or caretaking？ Or， if viewed from the perspective of the fungus， is it a strategy to maintain a diversity of connections to sources of sugars？ 。。。more

Sílvia ，

The perfect non fiction book - well written， interesting， magical， educational。 Will probably re-read it or come back to sections of it frequently。 What a wonderful book :）

Jacqueline ，

Reading this book makes me feel like a new door has opened in my brain。 From now on I consider myself a radical mycologist。

josep ，

i don't know what the fuck she is saying but girl i am living i don't know what the fuck she is saying but girl i am living 。。。more

Jessica ，

ok i only read half of this bc i dont have a non fiction brain but the half that i read was very good！ Fungi are cool！

Anna Bunce ，

This book is FASCINATING。 Like opening the door to a whole new complex world。

James ，

Not a particularly light read but certainly not a heavy one。 This book details in a fascinating fashion what we know （and what we don't） about fungi and how important they are。 I strongly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in biology or life sciences。 Not a particularly light read but certainly not a heavy one。 This book details in a fascinating fashion what we know （and what we don't） about fungi and how important they are。 I strongly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in biology or life sciences。 。。。more

Meghan S ，

The audio book is amazing and it’s just a fantastic read。 Extremely educational and interesting。 It can really change how you look at the world and makes you grateful for every little organism out there。 :D

Bobby ，

I enjoyed this。 I learned a lot， and I will definitely look at forest floors and mushrooms differently from now on。 I particularly liked the way Sheldrake critiqued the different metaphors people use to describe mycorrhizal fungi's relationships with plants （e。g。 wood wide webs） and explored these networks from a fungi-centric point-of-view。 In the chapter about applications of fungus to solve environmental problems， I was struck by how badly democratic economic planning is to make any of these I enjoyed this。 I learned a lot， and I will definitely look at forest floors and mushrooms differently from now on。 I particularly liked the way Sheldrake critiqued the different metaphors people use to describe mycorrhizal fungi's relationships with plants （e。g。 wood wide webs） and explored these networks from a fungi-centric point-of-view。 In the chapter about applications of fungus to solve environmental problems， I was struck by how badly democratic economic planning is to make any of these exciting ideas achieve widespread adoption in the face of existing environmentally destructive industries that very much don't want to be put out of business。 It's understandable that Sheldrake didn't go into that in this book （and he may not agree about it）， but I think it's worth mentioning。 。。。more

Kevin Gielen ，

Reading this makes want to understand fungi better and perhaps try to grow some myself。

Sam Griffiths ，

This book was delightful。 A romantic read into the world of mycology， the writer unintentionally inspires hope through his descriptions of the amazing things that Fungi are and do， while also expanding the reader's mind to think about fungi differently and without anthropomorphisms。 Somehow whimsical and meaningful， I would recommend this to anyone looking for something educational and lighthearted。 This book was delightful。 A romantic read into the world of mycology， the writer unintentionally inspires hope through his descriptions of the amazing things that Fungi are and do， while also expanding the reader's mind to think about fungi differently and without anthropomorphisms。 Somehow whimsical and meaningful， I would recommend this to anyone looking for something educational and lighthearted。 。。。more

Francesca ，

* 3。5

Karsten Karpius ，

Svampen， vår urgamla vän och kamrat！ Vi har vandrat bredvid varandra genom historien。 Mykologen Sheldrake sammanfattar forskningsläget på ett föredömligt sätt och skickar ut sporer av hopp för mänskligheten: tillsammans med svamparna kan vi skapa en ny， bättre värld。 Påtagligt läs- och tänkvärd， skapar ett sug efter både att sopa i sig mängder med läcker svamp och att läsa mer， en utmärkt introduktion till ämnet helt enkelt。

Amanda Patchin ，

Very interesting， but don't do shrooms。 OK？ Very interesting， but don't do shrooms。 OK？ 。。。more

Emma Vickers-smith ，

I wouldn't recommend it to a Biologist。 Lots of discussion of anthropomorphism and very little science， more focused on philosophical ideas and linguistic views。 That being said I did enjoy the book but to me felt a bit anticlimactic from a Biologists perspective。 I wouldn't recommend it to a Biologist。 Lots of discussion of anthropomorphism and very little science， more focused on philosophical ideas and linguistic views。 That being said I did enjoy the book but to me felt a bit anticlimactic from a Biologists perspective。 。。。more

Seamus Gregan ，

Mindblowing！Super engaging。 At times daunting， but ultimately a transformative look into how and why Fungi are the future， past and present of how we live our lives。The more you learn about Fungi， the less you realise you understand about fundamental 'truths' in this universe。 Prepare to have such bedrock concepts as 'what is an individual？' or 'what is life' and 'what is consciousness'？ challenged and finessed by a book such as this。 Fascinating。 Mindblowing！Super engaging。 At times daunting， but ultimately a transformative look into how and why Fungi are the future， past and present of how we live our lives。The more you learn about Fungi， the less you realise you understand about fundamental 'truths' in this universe。 Prepare to have such bedrock concepts as 'what is an individual？' or 'what is life' and 'what is consciousness'？ challenged and finessed by a book such as this。 Fascinating。 。。。more

Vel Veeter ，

This is a very interesting and fascinating book with a little bit of an identity crisis。 As a primer into the world of the interconnected of fungi with animal life， human life， plant life， and ecosystems this popular science text is a really eye-opening text。 Sheldrake is effective at being a passionate advocate for fungi awareness， as well as predicted skepticism at some of the claims made here and addressing them as he goes。 He presents an overview of the research， the history of research， and This is a very interesting and fascinating book with a little bit of an identity crisis。 As a primer into the world of the interconnected of fungi with animal life， human life， plant life， and ecosystems this popular science text is a really eye-opening text。 Sheldrake is effective at being a passionate advocate for fungi awareness， as well as predicted skepticism at some of the claims made here and addressing them as he goes。 He presents an overview of the research， the history of research， and some understanding of the future。 He also is effective at attempting to capture。。。not the complexity itself of the integrated and entangled systems， but at the impossibility to narrate and capture that complexity。 The identity crisis comes into play as he starts to investigate a very interesting problem he faces as a writer， but also one that doesn't seem neatly fitted into this book。 How can human language and metaphor adequately explain what we know and don't know about these complex systems。 So this book becomes a sneaky epistemology text as well。 In the last 60-70 years or so， many philosophers and linguists have turned to the natural world looking for appropriate metaphors to describe human knowledge， human language， human society， and human networks。 Deleuze used rhizome roots to explain complexity， Foucault used networking systems， and mathematics used chaos theory to speculate on prediction models。 Here， we almost have the inverse: a real search for appropriate human metaphor to explain how other organisms present preference， desire， will， and other human concepts。 This book struggles with it， but in that struggle there's an intellectual honesty that is really interesting。 I waited 90% through the book to get a Donna Haraway reference， and I got one。 The issue is that these two halves don't fit neatly together in this text。 。。。more

Tamara Collin ，

Fascinating！！！ I loved this book so damn much。 Fungi are bloody incredible！

Cindy ，

An excellent companion piece to Michael Pollan’s book about psychedelic mushrooms。 This covers the fungi kingdom of mushrooms and lichen， written by a credentialed scientist with an adventurous side。 My key takeaway is that mushrooms can save the bees， save the world， if only we’d open our minds to what these miracles of nature offer us。 They challenge the idea of individuals when considering the mycelium network that thrives underground。 Highly recommended。

Wilte ，

Great book on the importance and omnipresence of fungi。 Lyrical writing about the Fungi Kingdom and its many facets， that fascinate Sheldrake。See my blog:https://wilte。wordpress。com/2021/04/1。。。 Great book on the importance and omnipresence of fungi。 Lyrical writing about the Fungi Kingdom and its many facets， that fascinate Sheldrake。See my blog:https://wilte。wordpress。com/2021/04/1。。。 。。。more

Virat ，

Absolutely fantastic。 It's totally mushroom magic and will send you into an exstacy of discovery and wonders。 Easy to read and beautifully written by Merlin Sheldrake it deserves to be read by the whole world。 Will change your perspective of life。 Highly recommended Absolutely fantastic。 It's totally mushroom magic and will send you into an exstacy of discovery and wonders。 Easy to read and beautifully written by Merlin Sheldrake it deserves to be read by the whole world。 Will change your perspective of life。 Highly recommended 。。。more

K。A。 Ashcomb ，

I cannot praise this book enough。 It is beautifully written from prose to shifting between personal and information。 This book made me see the world， fungi， and us， humans， from a new perspective， and I cannot ever walk in the forest without thinking about mycelium networks or lichen， which I already love to take macro photographs。 Now I know they （lichen） are "mini-forest，" as I have considered them to be， composed of fungi， bacteria， and algae。 And I now think fungi are our future， despite the I cannot praise this book enough。 It is beautifully written from prose to shifting between personal and information。 This book made me see the world， fungi， and us， humans， from a new perspective， and I cannot ever walk in the forest without thinking about mycelium networks or lichen， which I already love to take macro photographs。 Now I know they （lichen） are "mini-forest，" as I have considered them to be， composed of fungi， bacteria， and algae。 And I now think fungi are our future， despite the book being cautious about claiming it to be true。 I loved the notes at the back， reading everything thoroughly。 I am a "converted" mycophile now。 That said， the book isn't about making you one。 It is a scientific book discussing the studies done about fungi， what we know， what we can't know， and what opinions people held and have those opinions scientific merit。 。。。more

Danielle Crawford ，

An excellent book about how invisible fungal networks have shaped the ecology we can see and what we can learn from these mostly unseen and often overlooked elements of the environment。 I read it because I am very interested in soil/plant interactions but got so much more out of it。 Part ecological study and part philosophy， if you like to think about how the world is both smaller than we think and larger than we can perceive， this book is for you。

marie rose ，

Absolutely mind-blowing！ As a future zoologist （hopefully） with an interest in all things biological， this was a fascinating introduction into the world of fungi！ I took so many notes， and plan on using them to do further research。 I saw some reviews saying the book was boring/dry， but。。。it's nonfiction， not an action novel。 Personally， I found it hard to put the book down， so the writing seemed okay to me！ This book is part anecdotes of the author， part factual， so if you strictly want just sto Absolutely mind-blowing！ As a future zoologist （hopefully） with an interest in all things biological， this was a fascinating introduction into the world of fungi！ I took so many notes， and plan on using them to do further research。 I saw some reviews saying the book was boring/dry， but。。。it's nonfiction， not an action novel。 Personally， I found it hard to put the book down， so the writing seemed okay to me！ This book is part anecdotes of the author， part factual， so if you strictly want just stories OR just facts， I would suggest reading something else。 As for me， I wanted both， and was not disappointed！ 。。。more

Jennifer V ，

"There is a world beyond ours。。。That world talks。 It has a language of its own。 I report what it says。 The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known。。。I ask them and they answer me。" - Maria SabinaI loved this book。 I read somewhere that maybe up to 90% of the fungi in the world are still unknown to scientists。 That just blows my mind because what we already know about fungi is amazing。 Here are some if my favorite facts from this book:•It wasn't u "There is a world beyond ours。。。That world talks。 It has a language of its own。 I report what it says。 The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known。。。I ask them and they answer me。" - Maria SabinaI loved this book。 I read somewhere that maybe up to 90% of the fungi in the world are still unknown to scientists。 That just blows my mind because what we already know about fungi is amazing。 Here are some if my favorite facts from this book:•It wasn't until the mid '60s that fungi belonged to their own kingdom。 For much of history they were classified as plants but scientists now know they are actually closer to animals。 They have chemicals in their cell walls shared by crabs and lobsters •Plants only made it out of the water around 500 million years ago because of their collaboration with fungi which served as their root systems for tens of millions of years until plants could evolve on their own。•Fungi have survived throughout all five of Earth's mass-extinctions。•Mushrooms can rewire neural pathways in the brain to alleviate depression， PTSD， anxiety and addiction•Fungi has been found to be able to break down a range of pollutants。 Anything from cigarette butts， herbicides， pesticides， crude oil， TNT and even some plastics。•Some fungal species discharge their spores ten times faster than a space shuttle after launch， reaching speeds of up to a hundred kilometers per hour-the quickest movements achieved by any living organism。•The dense meshwork of mycelium can be used to filter water。 Mycofiltration removes infectious diseases such as E。 coli and can stop up heavy metals like a sponge-a company in Finland uses this approach to reclaim gold from electronic waste。•Fungi may help to clean up nuclear waste sites-Chernobyl is home to a large population of fungi that grow towards radioactive particles， and appear to be able to harness radiation as a source of energy， as plants use the energy in sunlight。•The mycelium of some fungal species is electrically excitable and conducts waves of electrical activity along hyphae， analogous to the electrical of impusles in animal nerve cells。•Antiviral compounds produced by fungal mycelium reduce collony collapse disorder in honeybees。•In microfabrication， building materials and textiles are frown out of mycelium and in the future may be used to replace plastics and leather。•Some fungi have thousands of mating types， approximately equivalent to our sexes （one split gill fungus has more than 23K mating types， each of which is sexually compatible with nearly every one of the others）•Mycelial coordination takes place both everywhere at once and nowhere in particular。 For example， a scientist has observed waves of bioluminescence pass from the edge of one fungal culture to another， almost like it is releasing a chemical signal into the air。•In 2016 scientists brought back samples of lichen that had been mounted on the outside vof the ISS。 A handful of lichen species were able to survive in full space conditions by making themselves dormant in extreme conditions。Every single sentence above just blows my mind。 And I didn't by have the space for it but just look up "Ophiocordyceps" or "zombie ants"。 。。。more

Glynn ，

This was an interesting dive into the underground world of Fungus and Lichen and Magic Mushrooms etc。， I liked the various anecdotes the author intersperses and the fact that he mentions Sam Gamgee of Hobbit fame。 There are a ton of notes in this book。 In fact I think the notes are about 1/4 of the book。 The book is a bit rambling but fascinating all the way。 I got the hardcover from the library and it has a lot of nice photographs so I would recommend that instead of a kindle version。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0