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The Secret Life of Fungi: Discoveries From a Hidden World
Fungi are unlike any other living thing—they almost magically unique. Welcome to this astonishing world. . .
Fungi can appear anywhere, from desert dunes to frozen tundra. They can invade our bodies and live between our toes or our floorboards. They are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats, and symbols of both death and eternal life. But despite their familiar presence, there's still much to learn about the eruption, growth, and decay of their secret, interconnected, world.
Aliya Whiteley has always been in love with fungi—from her childhood taking blurry photographs of strange fungal eruptions on Exmoor to a career as a writer inspired by their surreal and alien beauty. This love for fungi is a love for life, from single-cell spores to the largest living organism on the planet; a story stretching from Aliya's lawn into orbit and back again via every continent.
From fields, feasts and fairy rings to death caps, puffballs and ambrosia beetles, this is an intoxicating journey into the life of an extraordinary organism, one that we have barely begun to understand.
Fungi can appear anywhere, from desert dunes to frozen tundra. They can invade our bodies and live between our toes or our floorboards. They are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats, and symbols of both death and eternal life. But despite their familiar presence, there's still much to learn about the eruption, growth, and decay of their secret, interconnected, world.
Aliya Whiteley has always been in love with fungi—from her childhood taking blurry photographs of strange fungal eruptions on Exmoor to a career as a writer inspired by their surreal and alien beauty. This love for fungi is a love for life, from single-cell spores to the largest living organism on the planet; a story stretching from Aliya's lawn into orbit and back again via every continent.
From fields, feasts and fairy rings to death caps, puffballs and ambrosia beetles, this is an intoxicating journey into the life of an extraordinary organism, one that we have barely begun to understand.
204 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2020
68 people are currently reading
2360 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
February 19, 2025
I loved this book. It’s a quick, engrossing read that’s so beautifully written. It’s filled with passion and heart and the author clearly loves the subject matter so much, it just shines through. I really didn’t want it to end and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to read certain chapters over and over :)
December 30, 2020
My mushroom loving, soft, eco friendly inclined, hippy heart was as happy as fungi on a rotting corpse reading this. Look, fungi are cool. You know that, I know that, Aliya Whiteley really knows that. A wonderful balance of educational information and profound statements delivered with humour and whimsy. Made me want to eat more mushrooms.
November 13, 2020
The biggest single living thing on earth is not a blue whale or a redwood tree, rather it is a simple fungus. I say simple, this particular specimen of honey fungus is huge, mind-boggling huge. It is the Malheur National Forest in the state of Oregon. It was found because it was killing trees in this forest and when the DNA was taken from trees around 2.4 miles apart, it was found to have the same DNA. Overall it was calculated to be 3.7 square miles and the guesses at its age vary between 1,900 – 8650 years old.
They are some of the strangest living things that we have found so far on the planet. Bizarre is only part of it. They live all around us and sometimes even on us. They can work in harmony with the natural world or their mycelium can suffocate the life from its host. Those looking for a high, can try and source magic mushrooms, but where they choose to grow makes them less than appealing. They can be a wonderful source of food, from the ubiquitous button mushroom to the very hard to find, but exquisite truffle. They have even named one, the porcini, after me…
Aliya Whiteley is one of those with a fascination, or to be more honest, an obsession with all types of fungi. It began in her childhood trying to take pictures on her camera on the ones she found on Darkmoor that always ended up a little out of focus when the film came back from the chemist. These specimens though were just the visible part, to learn more about them she would have to delve much deeper. Looking through the guide books she found that some of the names given to them were quite wonderful, who would not want to find a fairy sparkler? Others names though have a much more sinister vibe, who can fail to have a chill run down their neck at the thought of a death cap.
All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once.” – Terry Pratchett
Whiteley has packed this book with hundreds of facts about fungi, you can learn which species ejects its spores at 20,000g, which mushrooms the mummy that emerged from the ide in the Alps was carrying, which species she found a carpet of yellow mushrooms in a woodland walk on the way home from a club and which fungi that have the names Toxic Ooze and Clint Yeastwood. I rather liked this. It is not supposed to be a rigorous study, rather, Whiteley’s writing is fun to read as you follow her looping connections of all things mushroomy. It doesn’t read like a science paper either, her attention to detail is a countered with a dry sense of fun and lots of anecdotes of her fungi forays.
They are some of the strangest living things that we have found so far on the planet. Bizarre is only part of it. They live all around us and sometimes even on us. They can work in harmony with the natural world or their mycelium can suffocate the life from its host. Those looking for a high, can try and source magic mushrooms, but where they choose to grow makes them less than appealing. They can be a wonderful source of food, from the ubiquitous button mushroom to the very hard to find, but exquisite truffle. They have even named one, the porcini, after me…
Aliya Whiteley is one of those with a fascination, or to be more honest, an obsession with all types of fungi. It began in her childhood trying to take pictures on her camera on the ones she found on Darkmoor that always ended up a little out of focus when the film came back from the chemist. These specimens though were just the visible part, to learn more about them she would have to delve much deeper. Looking through the guide books she found that some of the names given to them were quite wonderful, who would not want to find a fairy sparkler? Others names though have a much more sinister vibe, who can fail to have a chill run down their neck at the thought of a death cap.
All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once.” – Terry Pratchett
Whiteley has packed this book with hundreds of facts about fungi, you can learn which species ejects its spores at 20,000g, which mushrooms the mummy that emerged from the ide in the Alps was carrying, which species she found a carpet of yellow mushrooms in a woodland walk on the way home from a club and which fungi that have the names Toxic Ooze and Clint Yeastwood. I rather liked this. It is not supposed to be a rigorous study, rather, Whiteley’s writing is fun to read as you follow her looping connections of all things mushroomy. It doesn’t read like a science paper either, her attention to detail is a countered with a dry sense of fun and lots of anecdotes of her fungi forays.
March 12, 2023
** Thanks to NetGalley, Aliya Whiteley, and Elliott & Thompson for this ARC. The edition I read is not yet on Goodreads and will be out November 3rd, 2022.
This was a really charming collection of reflections on fungi. Not quite science writing, not quite memoir, this was a series of standalone essays by the author about encounters with fungus. I read this in chunks before bed and it was the perfect book to leave and come back to over several days.
4 stars - I really liked it
This was a really charming collection of reflections on fungi. Not quite science writing, not quite memoir, this was a series of standalone essays by the author about encounters with fungus. I read this in chunks before bed and it was the perfect book to leave and come back to over several days.
4 stars - I really liked it
October 30, 2022
This was pretty ace actually. It is very informative, but written in quite a chatty style, and very readable. Fungi are fascinating, as this author would agree; the more I learn about them, the more I realise how much I don't know. I remember Chris Packham on Springwatch talking about the mycelial networks under ground, connecting all the trees in a wood, and allowing them to communicate with each other; how cool! This is an excellent place to start if you want to learn more.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
January 9, 2024
This was really phenomenal for the first half and then started to lose me in the nitty gritty details in the latter half...though I did get a LOT of amazing recs of other mush fungal horror themed fic books to check out!
YESSSS. cottage core. relaxing. Soft. Quiet. Reminiscent of walking through a damp forest after the rain.
I really love this audio narrator!
Omg this is so lovely...it also feels like when watching the great British bake off...the quiet vibes
It reads like going on a walk through the forest to go mushroom hunting!!!!
If you need a chill book this IS IT!!!!
Genuinely one of the best audiobooks ever read
Some of this content does give me the creeps or the ick just a bit 😅🤭
But it's also enchanting
Some of the stuff about specific mushrooms is boring 😴
YESSSS. cottage core. relaxing. Soft. Quiet. Reminiscent of walking through a damp forest after the rain.
I really love this audio narrator!
Omg this is so lovely...it also feels like when watching the great British bake off...the quiet vibes
It reads like going on a walk through the forest to go mushroom hunting!!!!
If you need a chill book this IS IT!!!!
Genuinely one of the best audiobooks ever read
Some of this content does give me the creeps or the ick just a bit 😅🤭
But it's also enchanting
Some of the stuff about specific mushrooms is boring 😴
April 18, 2023
Please don’t ask me to explain, but fungi are absolutely fascinating to me. In another life, where I hadn’t gotten into medschool, I would have probably gone to uni for biology/ecology and books like this are a reminder that maybe I would’ve been very happy in that life as well.
June 29, 2021
As if there weren’t enough to worry about, it turns out there is a whole other class of beings on Earth – fungi. They are not plants, they are not animals. They are not viruses. But they are involved with all those things. Aliya Whitely is a big, if hesitant fan of fungi. Her book, The Secret Life of Fungi is a fun read, which means it is fast moving, top line only, wide-ranging, but informative. From science to childhood reminiscences and history (mostly plagues and death), she skims the fungi universe with evident passion in 30 quick chapters.
Mushrooms are notorious for being toxic. Whitely is justifiably afraid to try them on her own, despite her research and her knowledge. Or rather, because of her research and her knowledge. Better to just admire them. But that only addresses consumption. Breathing in spores, or insects and vermin carrying them can lead to all kinds of horrific diseases and death. Loving fungi is complicated.
They spread by unleashing clouds of all but invisible spores, some of which land where it can do the fungus some good – ie. reproduce. It might be on the back of ant, on a leaf, or on the ground. Every strategy is different.
Mushrooms are not the fungus plant. They are the fruit produced by the fungus. They can be firm or slimy, huge puffballs or a mess of goo, or combinations thereof. Rare ones, like truffles, can go for a thousand euros a kilogram. People train dogs for years to be able to sniff them out. Pigs used to be the go-to sniffer, but they like to eat the merchandise. Dogs are simply happy with the game.
What readers might not know is how adaptable and hardy fungi really are. Some of them can exist without oxygen or gravity, in outer space. They turned up all over the Mir space station before it was abandoned, and since the International Space Station has taken them onboard for experiments, it will be essentially impossible to get rid of them. Their spores go everywhere, and get into everything, in living bodies and especially in dead and decaying things. But also non-organic materials, like rocks and window panes. It seems they are the most adaptable beings on Earth.
Fungi are specialized to be attracted to and accelerate decay. They help clean up the world, and have been doing so for countless eons. They are not, despite legend, confined to dark and damp places. They live on every continent, including Antarctica, and also underground, in complete darkness. Their underground connections, called hyphae, can extend for miles.
Whitely only touches briefly on my favorite aspect of fungi. They are a network, specifically an underground communications cable linking all manner of plants. Fungal hyphae are incredibly long strings underground that allow fungus and lichens to appear in and on everything, from trees to rocks and everything in between. But more interestingly, those hyphae are a communications carrier. They enable trees to communicate their status to each other. The forest is alive with underground chatter we have only just discovered. Trees will alter root growth, or send additional resources to areas according to communications passed along this network. They might be parched, or under attack. They might need to fight off a beetle infestations, which is a warning to all.
Some beetles either leverage or unwittingly spread fungi under bark, usually not to the advantage of the tree. Think Dutch Elm Disease, which is on the verge of wiping out the entire species globally.
This business of network communications is very much like the universe: the scale is astounding. Just as the universe, composed of trillions of suns usually bigger than ours, is also composed of subatomic particles that act as if they were in their own little universe, so with earthbound communications networks. While we are busy bouncing data around the globe to share cat videos and hate postings, the human body is a universe of networks inside itself. It is a loud, chattering din of communications along neural pathways, as everything is constantly reporting its status. Every muscle, every organ, every cell reports. Sometimes just locally, sometimes right to the brain. Change in status sends the brain into action, causing flight or fight instincts to activate, inflammation to seal off an injured area, T cells to fight invaders, and so on.
This model is becoming seemingly common to life in general. It turns out the whole forest is linked by a similar communications system, provided by fungi. Trees are active participants, guarding their own health and co-operating within the forest community. The humble mushroom is at the center of critical communications systems. It’s a whole new discipline, emerging right now.
(For my review on this subject, see The Secret Language of Cells at https://medium.com/the-straight-dope/... .)
Fungi are also employed right in our homes. They run the fermentation process. They provide yeasts. As Whitely says: “The sourdough starter must be the only fungus that gets treated like a pet.” Remarkable range, worth considering more often and more deeply. This is a good start.
David Wineberg
Mushrooms are notorious for being toxic. Whitely is justifiably afraid to try them on her own, despite her research and her knowledge. Or rather, because of her research and her knowledge. Better to just admire them. But that only addresses consumption. Breathing in spores, or insects and vermin carrying them can lead to all kinds of horrific diseases and death. Loving fungi is complicated.
They spread by unleashing clouds of all but invisible spores, some of which land where it can do the fungus some good – ie. reproduce. It might be on the back of ant, on a leaf, or on the ground. Every strategy is different.
Mushrooms are not the fungus plant. They are the fruit produced by the fungus. They can be firm or slimy, huge puffballs or a mess of goo, or combinations thereof. Rare ones, like truffles, can go for a thousand euros a kilogram. People train dogs for years to be able to sniff them out. Pigs used to be the go-to sniffer, but they like to eat the merchandise. Dogs are simply happy with the game.
What readers might not know is how adaptable and hardy fungi really are. Some of them can exist without oxygen or gravity, in outer space. They turned up all over the Mir space station before it was abandoned, and since the International Space Station has taken them onboard for experiments, it will be essentially impossible to get rid of them. Their spores go everywhere, and get into everything, in living bodies and especially in dead and decaying things. But also non-organic materials, like rocks and window panes. It seems they are the most adaptable beings on Earth.
Fungi are specialized to be attracted to and accelerate decay. They help clean up the world, and have been doing so for countless eons. They are not, despite legend, confined to dark and damp places. They live on every continent, including Antarctica, and also underground, in complete darkness. Their underground connections, called hyphae, can extend for miles.
Whitely only touches briefly on my favorite aspect of fungi. They are a network, specifically an underground communications cable linking all manner of plants. Fungal hyphae are incredibly long strings underground that allow fungus and lichens to appear in and on everything, from trees to rocks and everything in between. But more interestingly, those hyphae are a communications carrier. They enable trees to communicate their status to each other. The forest is alive with underground chatter we have only just discovered. Trees will alter root growth, or send additional resources to areas according to communications passed along this network. They might be parched, or under attack. They might need to fight off a beetle infestations, which is a warning to all.
Some beetles either leverage or unwittingly spread fungi under bark, usually not to the advantage of the tree. Think Dutch Elm Disease, which is on the verge of wiping out the entire species globally.
This business of network communications is very much like the universe: the scale is astounding. Just as the universe, composed of trillions of suns usually bigger than ours, is also composed of subatomic particles that act as if they were in their own little universe, so with earthbound communications networks. While we are busy bouncing data around the globe to share cat videos and hate postings, the human body is a universe of networks inside itself. It is a loud, chattering din of communications along neural pathways, as everything is constantly reporting its status. Every muscle, every organ, every cell reports. Sometimes just locally, sometimes right to the brain. Change in status sends the brain into action, causing flight or fight instincts to activate, inflammation to seal off an injured area, T cells to fight invaders, and so on.
This model is becoming seemingly common to life in general. It turns out the whole forest is linked by a similar communications system, provided by fungi. Trees are active participants, guarding their own health and co-operating within the forest community. The humble mushroom is at the center of critical communications systems. It’s a whole new discipline, emerging right now.
(For my review on this subject, see The Secret Language of Cells at https://medium.com/the-straight-dope/... .)
Fungi are also employed right in our homes. They run the fermentation process. They provide yeasts. As Whitely says: “The sourdough starter must be the only fungus that gets treated like a pet.” Remarkable range, worth considering more often and more deeply. This is a good start.
David Wineberg
October 22, 2020
In this illuminating book, Aliya Whiteley delves into everything from cellular makeup to the fascinating ways fungi interact with their surroundings and other species, as well as the many varied roles they've played in our own civilization. The vast potential of these understudied organisms is still untapped; though long used as a source of food and medicine, they could also hold the key to a variety of scientific advances, from agriculture to environmental innovations. The Secret Life of Fungi is a glimpse into their incredible, surprising and dark world: a lyrical tour through the eruption, growth and decay under our feet, overhead, and even inside us.
A memoir of Whiteley’s love of the fascinating world of fungi, this is a lively and passionate exploration of an organism fundamental to sustaining life on earth which is often either neglected, misunderstood or both. Her enthusiasm for her topic and the accessible, conversational prose makes this a joyful read and she points out exactly how her interest in fungi has grown deeper over the years. Whereas Merlin Sheldrake’s recent book Entangled Life focused on how fungi supports life and was all-encompassing, this book, in contrast, focuses on how Whiteley’s life has been enriched by the many different types of fungi and their stories and is much more layperson friendly. Many thanks to Elliott & Thompson for an ARC.
A memoir of Whiteley’s love of the fascinating world of fungi, this is a lively and passionate exploration of an organism fundamental to sustaining life on earth which is often either neglected, misunderstood or both. Her enthusiasm for her topic and the accessible, conversational prose makes this a joyful read and she points out exactly how her interest in fungi has grown deeper over the years. Whereas Merlin Sheldrake’s recent book Entangled Life focused on how fungi supports life and was all-encompassing, this book, in contrast, focuses on how Whiteley’s life has been enriched by the many different types of fungi and their stories and is much more layperson friendly. Many thanks to Elliott & Thompson for an ARC.
January 8, 2023
I'm not the audience for this because I think if you struggle to comprehend articles on a subject, you shouldn't write a book on that subject.
October 18, 2020
As there a number of photos in this review check it out on my blog: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020...
February 7, 2021
What an odd little book this is. It is interesting to imagine how such a project was pitched at the publisher. Ultimately I am left pondering at who the market is is for such a book?
To sum up the book consists of a lot of very short vignettes connected in some way to fungi grouped loosely around three themes - erupt, spread and decay.
On the one hand Aliya has a delightfully accessible style which, I wanted to believe, underplays just how much she knows. On the other she says things that are contrary to what I was taught. For example the colonisation of the earth following the retreat of the glaciers started with lichens, mosses, liverworts and algae before birch woodlands became established - it took a long time to get to beech woodland!
She is also an American and, whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with that, there are words that just don't sit with this reader principally 'mutualistic', when I'd have been quite happy with symbiosis.
She also commits the cardinal sin, and right from the off too, of refering to "Latin names" when of course they are more correctly described as scientific names because they contain loads of words from other languages.
All this sews seeds of doubt..
The book is not an introduction to fungi. It is a multi-course taster of how important and pervasive fungi are but like many tasters it fails to feed and leaves you still hungry.
Still it is a quick read and enteratining but not something that I will hang on to - shelf space is at a premium. I expect it will make a trip to a charity shop when they eventually reopen.
To sum up the book consists of a lot of very short vignettes connected in some way to fungi grouped loosely around three themes - erupt, spread and decay.
On the one hand Aliya has a delightfully accessible style which, I wanted to believe, underplays just how much she knows. On the other she says things that are contrary to what I was taught. For example the colonisation of the earth following the retreat of the glaciers started with lichens, mosses, liverworts and algae before birch woodlands became established - it took a long time to get to beech woodland!
She is also an American and, whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with that, there are words that just don't sit with this reader principally 'mutualistic', when I'd have been quite happy with symbiosis.
She also commits the cardinal sin, and right from the off too, of refering to "Latin names" when of course they are more correctly described as scientific names because they contain loads of words from other languages.
All this sews seeds of doubt..
The book is not an introduction to fungi. It is a multi-course taster of how important and pervasive fungi are but like many tasters it fails to feed and leaves you still hungry.
Still it is a quick read and enteratining but not something that I will hang on to - shelf space is at a premium. I expect it will make a trip to a charity shop when they eventually reopen.
February 12, 2023
I liked this book! It had some interesting tidbits of information sprinkled throughout its chapters; I especially loved the mentioning of so many scientific names of different types of fungi. However, I went into this book expecting a connected, logically connected order of chapters, to find a scattering of topics all throughout the book. Also, this book doesn’t feel like it was written by an expert. I expected the author to possess a more detailed expertise, or rather, I expected the BOOK to have more fleshed-out, in depth information than it did. For what the book is, though — a sprinkling of mycological facts, ranging from tales of specific genuses to personal experience with mushrooms — it does a pretty good job. It was just not what I was expecting.
October 8, 2020
Author Aliya Whiteley has been fascinated by fungi since her childhood spent in North Devon; indeed, science-fiction-like mushrooms bloom in much of her fiction. She is, she writes, 'inspired by their surreal and alien beauty'. The Secret Life of Fungi: Discoveries from a Hidden World is Whiteley's non-fiction foray into the world of fungi great and small.
Whiteley provides 'a glimpse into their incredible, surprising and dark world: a lyrical romp through the eruption, growth and decay under our feet, overhead, and even inside us.' They can, writes Whiteley, 'invade bodies and thoughts; they can live between our toes or between our floorboards; they are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats; they are symbols of both death and eternal life.'
Fungi have been found on every continent on earth, and can flourish under all conditions, from deserts to tundra; they have even been found on the Space Station. Despite their familiar presence, however, we know relatively little about these 'secretive lifeforms'.
Many fungi exist without a common name, and even without common characteristics. In her introduction, Whiteley reflects that even as a child, she recognised how different fungi could be, from 'flat and smooth' to 'creased in texture, like folded paper'. She muses: 'They could look bold, defiant, in the way their caps reared up from their stems, or they could be a mess of rotting material from which insects crawled and snails oozed.' They can also be vastly different in the ways in which they present to humans, particularly with regard to their smell: 'A flick through my identification guide,' writes Whiteley, 'reveals a host of descriptions that have passed me by: mushrooms that smell of shrimp, of sawdust, of radish, plums or parsley, of iodine, of rhubarb, of ammonia or crabmeat. They can smell unpleasant, sickly sweet, rank or rancid.'
The Secret Life of Fungi has been split into three separate sections - 'Erupt', 'Spread', and 'Decay' - which are, in turn, made up of short chapters. In these, Whiteley writes about many elements of fungi: their taxonomy and folk names, the uses of fungi in medicine, their reproduction processes, truffle hunting, fungal infections, and making sourdough bread, just for starters... She pays attention to their evolution, too. Whiteley's prose style veers between the informal and the poetic, weaving in scientific evidence and historical discoveries along the way.
One of the most interesting parts of the book, in my opinion, were the mentions which Whiteley made of looking toward the future; she believes that fungi could 'hold the key to a variety of scientific advances, from agriculture to environmental innovations.' However, I do not feel as though this really went far enough; it was merely touched upon on a couple of occasions.
The Secret Life of Fungi is an anecdotal book, comprised of short chapters which only relate to one another in that they all mention some guise of fungi. Although Whiteley does cover a lot of ground here - from their cellular makeup, to the fascinating ways in which fungi interact with their surroundings, and their symbiotic relationships with other organisms - it is not an in-depth exploration by any means. However, it does provide so much of interest, and is certainly an accessible handbook of sorts. The handy 'Reading List of Fungal Fiction' allows you to go further in this field - pardon the pun - if you wish to.
In many ways, The Secret Life of Fungi is quite fascinating, but I do not feel as though it was overly engaging. Despite the different sections, the majority of the chapters have no flow from one to the next. Whilst I liked the general approach of the book, I did feel as though the ordering of sections was a little too random, and a more circular structure would have been far more effective.
I shall end this review on one of the main takeaways from the book, something which I feel can be easily overlooked: 'Fungi, just like the rest of the Earth's organisms, have to find a way to live in the world humans are creating, even to the detriment of others.'
Whiteley provides 'a glimpse into their incredible, surprising and dark world: a lyrical romp through the eruption, growth and decay under our feet, overhead, and even inside us.' They can, writes Whiteley, 'invade bodies and thoughts; they can live between our toes or between our floorboards; they are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats; they are symbols of both death and eternal life.'
Fungi have been found on every continent on earth, and can flourish under all conditions, from deserts to tundra; they have even been found on the Space Station. Despite their familiar presence, however, we know relatively little about these 'secretive lifeforms'.
Many fungi exist without a common name, and even without common characteristics. In her introduction, Whiteley reflects that even as a child, she recognised how different fungi could be, from 'flat and smooth' to 'creased in texture, like folded paper'. She muses: 'They could look bold, defiant, in the way their caps reared up from their stems, or they could be a mess of rotting material from which insects crawled and snails oozed.' They can also be vastly different in the ways in which they present to humans, particularly with regard to their smell: 'A flick through my identification guide,' writes Whiteley, 'reveals a host of descriptions that have passed me by: mushrooms that smell of shrimp, of sawdust, of radish, plums or parsley, of iodine, of rhubarb, of ammonia or crabmeat. They can smell unpleasant, sickly sweet, rank or rancid.'
The Secret Life of Fungi has been split into three separate sections - 'Erupt', 'Spread', and 'Decay' - which are, in turn, made up of short chapters. In these, Whiteley writes about many elements of fungi: their taxonomy and folk names, the uses of fungi in medicine, their reproduction processes, truffle hunting, fungal infections, and making sourdough bread, just for starters... She pays attention to their evolution, too. Whiteley's prose style veers between the informal and the poetic, weaving in scientific evidence and historical discoveries along the way.
One of the most interesting parts of the book, in my opinion, were the mentions which Whiteley made of looking toward the future; she believes that fungi could 'hold the key to a variety of scientific advances, from agriculture to environmental innovations.' However, I do not feel as though this really went far enough; it was merely touched upon on a couple of occasions.
The Secret Life of Fungi is an anecdotal book, comprised of short chapters which only relate to one another in that they all mention some guise of fungi. Although Whiteley does cover a lot of ground here - from their cellular makeup, to the fascinating ways in which fungi interact with their surroundings, and their symbiotic relationships with other organisms - it is not an in-depth exploration by any means. However, it does provide so much of interest, and is certainly an accessible handbook of sorts. The handy 'Reading List of Fungal Fiction' allows you to go further in this field - pardon the pun - if you wish to.
In many ways, The Secret Life of Fungi is quite fascinating, but I do not feel as though it was overly engaging. Despite the different sections, the majority of the chapters have no flow from one to the next. Whilst I liked the general approach of the book, I did feel as though the ordering of sections was a little too random, and a more circular structure would have been far more effective.
I shall end this review on one of the main takeaways from the book, something which I feel can be easily overlooked: 'Fungi, just like the rest of the Earth's organisms, have to find a way to live in the world humans are creating, even to the detriment of others.'
October 13, 2022
This was an absolutely fascinating nonfiction book. I never realised fungi could be so riveting! It’s made me look out for them even more when I’m out walking.
I loved the short snappy chapters that started with a delicate pencil illustration of a particular fungi relevant to the chapter. The book was split up into three sections titled Erupt, Spread and Decay, and then into chapters within each section.
I learnt so much about fungi, not just mushrooms or toadstools. In fact lichen are a type of fungi, I didn’t know that, didn’t even think about it before reading this book.
Did you know that Button, Chestnut and Portobello Mushrooms are all the same, just at different stages of growth? I really thought they were different, especially chestnut mushrooms.
There was a wonderful chapter about the different fungi around the world. Aseroe rubra from Australia looks amazing, as do the caterpillar fungus found on the Tibetan Plateau!
There was also a chapter about fungi in literature and film, particularly horror, which was quite creepy, so very appropriate for this time of year!
Highly recommended if you love you nonfiction, especially about the natural world.
Thanks so much to Alison Menzies and Elliot & Thompson for my lovely paperback copy.
I loved the short snappy chapters that started with a delicate pencil illustration of a particular fungi relevant to the chapter. The book was split up into three sections titled Erupt, Spread and Decay, and then into chapters within each section.
I learnt so much about fungi, not just mushrooms or toadstools. In fact lichen are a type of fungi, I didn’t know that, didn’t even think about it before reading this book.
Did you know that Button, Chestnut and Portobello Mushrooms are all the same, just at different stages of growth? I really thought they were different, especially chestnut mushrooms.
There was a wonderful chapter about the different fungi around the world. Aseroe rubra from Australia looks amazing, as do the caterpillar fungus found on the Tibetan Plateau!
There was also a chapter about fungi in literature and film, particularly horror, which was quite creepy, so very appropriate for this time of year!
Highly recommended if you love you nonfiction, especially about the natural world.
Thanks so much to Alison Menzies and Elliot & Thompson for my lovely paperback copy.
September 9, 2020
I chose this book because I am interested in Biology in general, and I wanted to learn more about fungi. I should perhaps have realised that a book written by an author who mostly writes fictional works would not be a fact-heavy, scientific one! I unfortunately didn’t learn anything new from this book.
However, although not to my personal taste, this book was not without interest. It is rather like a love story between the author and fungi. It provides a good overview of all the many places and situations fungi turn up in, and conveys the author’s wonder at the vast variety that populate our world.
I personally found it irritating that so much of the book was taken up with stories, personal anecdotes, and imaginings. Some of it seemed tedious and a little repetitive. I felt like I was constantly on the edge of reading something really interesting, but it never quite materialised. Hence, I have given it only two stars, representing my personal enjoyment. However, I think it could be really enjoyable for other readers. It could well serve as a magical and entertaining introduction to the mysterious world of fungi.
I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.
However, although not to my personal taste, this book was not without interest. It is rather like a love story between the author and fungi. It provides a good overview of all the many places and situations fungi turn up in, and conveys the author’s wonder at the vast variety that populate our world.
I personally found it irritating that so much of the book was taken up with stories, personal anecdotes, and imaginings. Some of it seemed tedious and a little repetitive. I felt like I was constantly on the edge of reading something really interesting, but it never quite materialised. Hence, I have given it only two stars, representing my personal enjoyment. However, I think it could be really enjoyable for other readers. It could well serve as a magical and entertaining introduction to the mysterious world of fungi.
I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.
April 26, 2022
I was expecting a deep dive into the fascinating biological realm of the fungi - I even postponed reading it until I could give it my full attention. Instead, I got a long string of tiny chapters, each telling some story related to fungi, but never going anywhere. A book that is part journal, part cook book and part history anecdotes and has the compelling title The Secret Life of Fungi cannot say so little about fungi and be so shallow.
It's not even a long book, it's a one evening read, but it never explains enough to shed light on the subject, it brings in unrelated ideas from too many other directions and has no continuity or narrative thread. It's just a series of episodes that might be interesting, but most of the time are completely forgettable. I don't know what Aliya Whiteley thought when deciding on this format, but I personally loathe it. She doesn't love fungi, she loves hearing herself say things.
It's not even a long book, it's a one evening read, but it never explains enough to shed light on the subject, it brings in unrelated ideas from too many other directions and has no continuity or narrative thread. It's just a series of episodes that might be interesting, but most of the time are completely forgettable. I don't know what Aliya Whiteley thought when deciding on this format, but I personally loathe it. She doesn't love fungi, she loves hearing herself say things.
October 26, 2021
Very interesting.
At times it is almost magical.
My only reproach is that it is too short. I wish it contained more information but it is good to start with the topic.
At times it is almost magical.
My only reproach is that it is too short. I wish it contained more information but it is good to start with the topic.
January 18, 2021
This compact volume is split into short chapters, each exploring a different type of fungi, or way that fungi behave. We are taken to space, the Artic and the Sahara. We learn about buildings made of bricks of fungi, decomposition, creation and destruction.
I picked up this book with little knowledge of this strange kingdom and finished it feeling better informed and all the more intrigued. Whitely’s passion comes across in all she writes, and she often links fungi to bigger philosophical thoughts.
I’d buy this book for anyone interested in the natural world and the connections between all living things. A delight to either dip into or devour in one go.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I picked up this book with little knowledge of this strange kingdom and finished it feeling better informed and all the more intrigued. Whitely’s passion comes across in all she writes, and she often links fungi to bigger philosophical thoughts.
I’d buy this book for anyone interested in the natural world and the connections between all living things. A delight to either dip into or devour in one go.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2020
I chose this book as I'm fascinated by the complex nature of Fungi, though I'd consider myself a novice.
This book was full of interesting anecdotal tales of Fungi.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, but after reading, I felt I wanted more in some areas, but overall it was an enjoyable read.
It was well presented in neat sections with interesting information about habitats, types of Fungi etc and it would be a good addition to the bookshelf for anyone interested in Fungi.
With thanks to Netgalley, publisher and Author for the advanced reader copy.
This book was full of interesting anecdotal tales of Fungi.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, but after reading, I felt I wanted more in some areas, but overall it was an enjoyable read.
It was well presented in neat sections with interesting information about habitats, types of Fungi etc and it would be a good addition to the bookshelf for anyone interested in Fungi.
With thanks to Netgalley, publisher and Author for the advanced reader copy.
October 15, 2022
A fun fascinating run through about the range and powers of this unusual species we share our planet with. Prepare to now see them with more awe and wonder that you may have been expecting
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
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August 28, 2022DNF'd 40%
June 8, 2022
this book really didn’t do it for me-it was written in a really strange way and the writing like wasn’t very good? interesting content but def could’ve been presented in a better way (2.5 ⭐️)
January 25, 2023
My takeaway from this is The Last of Us can, will, and perhaps even should happen.
November 26, 2023
I liked this book more than I actually liked the book, if you catch my drift. My liking for fungi has not increased any, I think it is gross, and now I think it's kind of scary too. But the book is charming, and the writer a curious character, endearingly older than her years.
April 19, 2025
It’s a pleasure to read a well written book about a topic the author is truly passionate about. Fungi are given their due accolades in this captivating short book.
November 16, 2021
Obwohl ich den Enthusiasmus nur teilen kann ging das ganze leider nicht tief genug
June 10, 2023
VERY introductory material. Does that thing where there are blank pages between the chapters to pad it and make it look thicker. More unrelated think-pieces (some of which repeat themselves) than a cohesive volume. It's...fine. Glosses over studies and pop culture references to mushrooms in an almost information-free way. (Shelldrake's book is better, gives more detail.)
The best part are her personal reminiscences, the memories and experiences and observations only she could bring.
Her attitude seems to be "We all have the same amount of right to live here, so if mushrooms kills us or replace us or break us down and use us for their own ends, well SHRUG." And occasionally she seems to suggest that this unnerves her or makes her uncomfortable, but it also seems dispassionate and abstract to her, a thing to SAY rather than really believe.
The best part are her personal reminiscences, the memories and experiences and observations only she could bring.
Her attitude seems to be "We all have the same amount of right to live here, so if mushrooms kills us or replace us or break us down and use us for their own ends, well SHRUG." And occasionally she seems to suggest that this unnerves her or makes her uncomfortable, but it also seems dispassionate and abstract to her, a thing to SAY rather than really believe.
March 7, 2023
super easy read. really fascinating when it’s actually about the scientific side of fungi and not just the anecdotal stories the author tells about her childhood filled with mushroom hunting. at one point the author writes ‘never mind the science’ and ‘i’m not able to decipher the science at these levels but i’m in love with the words’ which is evident because as soon as i felt like we were getting somewhere interesting the chapter would end or it would start veering into short story territory. but you can tell she’s passionate, and i appreciate that
August 23, 2023
The format of this book, which consists of 3-6 page chapters that never delve too deeply into any one subject, really didn't do it for me.
The title is also a bit misleading. It could more accurately be called Rambles on Topics Tangential to Fungi. I love mushrooms a lot, and wanted to love this, but I finished it kind of begrudgingly, just hoping for a few tidbits of fungi facts that were new to me.
The title is also a bit misleading. It could more accurately be called Rambles on Topics Tangential to Fungi. I love mushrooms a lot, and wanted to love this, but I finished it kind of begrudgingly, just hoping for a few tidbits of fungi facts that were new to me.
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