John Norris, former deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and founder of the Bioterrorism Institute

Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. That’s right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment, and in this groundbreaking text from mushroom expert Paul Stamets, you’ll find out how. Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms ★ The Mushroom Cultivator ★ Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World ★ Mycelium Running ★ From Bears & Trees to Mushrooms & Bees ★ The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called “mycelium”–the fruit of which are mushrooms–recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening).However! If I someday have a home in a mountain forest (as I often fantasize), I would definitely try to cultivate multiple mushrooms in various contexts, mostly in food production and soil improvement. Maybe some magic stuff, too? Chapter 1: as a manifesto of possible things, it's a good read. But there's a lot of conjecture, "I suppose it could"s and generally big ideas that have very little grounding in much apart from Stamets' own musing (which whilst undoubtedly have a basis in his own extensive experimentation, are pretty wild). The role of oxalic acid and calcium oxalates in sequestering carbon dioxide and building the carbon bank This is the first book to give the Kingdom of the Fungi its proper place in the scheme of things. It is the most important book on nature that I’ve seen in years.” This visionary and practical book should be an instant classic in the emerging science of how to use nature’s wisdom and fecundity to rescue the earth and ourselves from the unwelcome consequences of human cleverness.“

Mr Stamets includes a fair bit of science with the more practical side of things, but don't be afraid of that part. It's not beyond anyone's grasp and serves to give readers a better understanding of how the various types of fungi function and how you can better integrate it into your garden/ woodland /land/ smallholding/ farm. I really want to continue learning about mushrooms (any book recommendations are welcome), hunting them, appreciating them, tasting them and following Paul's work closely. How valid some of these frustrations are definitely depend on the idea of where legitimate knowledge comes from. Does the only source of truth come from peer-reviewed journals and establishment sources, or are there equally valid forms of knowledge creation that run in parallel with the scientific establishment? Notwithstanding that it's not a simple binary, I found there was often not enough substance to validate some of Stamets' bolder claims, even though I think pretty much everything he's doing should be more heavily researched and tested (and I think in the years since first publication, there's been some vindication of his initial ideas and experiments).But my curiosity still remains about why the supposed power of mycelium is not being utilized. The world is practically on fire right now and I have read elsewhere that we don’t use mushrooms because the restorative effects of mycelium after a forest fire are too slow. From what I’ve read mycelium germs (seeds?) can be planted after the restoration process has been completed and will help with keeping plants moist in draught and assist with pest control etc., but this isn’t utilized either. Repeated rhapsodizing, mostly in the first third of the book. I don't know about the rest of the audience, but when I'm reading anything marketed as scientific nonfiction, I expect science every step of the way. Phrases like "mushrooms are shamanic souls, spiritually tuned into their homelands," "mushrooms are forest guardians," "ancient mycological wisdom," "collective fungal consciousness," and, inexplicably, "chi power" take away from the overall message. I get it, the guy is passionate about (and may worship) mushrooms; I'm passionate about birds; someone else is passionate about cats. Maybe this is his attempt to connect with the general public. But language like the above is more suited to an everyday conversation than a scientific text. There isn't a study out there that can prove the "shamanic soul" or "chi power" of a mushroom, and at the end of the day I don't want to know how much you love the mushroom, just why it should matter to me and humanity - which is the point, right? Solid overview of fungi's ecological potential - from repairing deforestation to cleaning up toxic/radioactive waste to even fighting insect pests, this was probably my favorite part of the book. These are important and timely findings, and should be more popular than they currently are. The author of numerous books and papers on the subject of mushroom identification and cultivation, Stamets has discovered four new species of mushrooms. He is an advocate of the permaculture system of growing, and considers fungiculture a valuable but underutilized aspect of permaculture. He is also a leading researcher into the use of mushrooms in bioremediation, processes he terms mycoremediation and mycofiltration. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World is the sixth book written by American mycologist Paul Stamets.