 | |
| Author | Merlin Sheldrake |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 12 May 2020 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 368 |
| Award | Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation |
| ISBN | 978-0-525-51031-4 |
Entangled Life: How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures is a 2020 non-fiction book on mycology by British biologist Merlin Sheldrake. His first book, [1] [2] [3] it was published by Random House on 12 May 2020. [4]
Sheldrake is an expert in mycorrhizal fungi, [5] holds a PhD in tropical ecology from the University of Cambridge for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a predoctoral research fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, [6] and he is on the advisory board of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). His research is primarily in the fields of fungal biology and the history of Amazonian ethnobotany. [7] He is the son of Rupert Sheldrake, a New Age author, and Jill Purce, an author and therapist, and the brother of musician Cosmo Sheldrake. [8] [6] [9]
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]
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]
The book was named on Time magazine's list of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020, [16] and The Daily Telegraph list of the 50 Best Books of 2020, [17] and was chosen as one of the best nature books of 2020 by The Times . [18] It was serialized on BBC Radio 4 as the book of the week, [19] and is a Sunday Times best-seller. [20] It won the Wainwright Prize in the Global Conservation Writing category, [21] the Guild of Food Writers First Book Award, [22] and the 2021 Royal Society Science Books Prize. [23] It was shortlisted for the 2021 British Book Award for Non-Fiction: Narrative Book of the Year. [24]
Entangled Life was an inspiration for the Spring 2021 couture collection by Iris van Herpen. [25]
Sheldrake presented the documentary "Fungi: Web of Life", narrated by Björk. [26]
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Mycology branches into the field of phytopathology, the study of plant diseases. The two disciplines are closely related, because the vast majority of plant pathogens are fungi. A biologist specializing in mycology is called a mycologist.
Alfred Rupert Sheldrake is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has worked as a biochemist at Cambridge University, a Harvard scholar, a researcher at the Royal Society, and a plant physiologist for ICRISAT in India.
Paul Edward Stamets is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation.
Coprinus comatus, commonly known as the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales—this is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and deliquesce ('melt') into a black liquid filled with spores. This mushroom is unusual because it will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores.
The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi.
Dimorphic fungi are fungi that can exist in the form of both mold and yeast. This is usually brought about by change in temperature and the fungi are also described as thermally dimorphic fungi. An example is Talaromyces marneffei, a human pathogen that grows as a mold at room temperature, and as a yeast at human body temperature.
A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.
David Leslie Hawksworth is a British mycologist and lichenologist currently with a professorship in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Madrid, Spain and also a Scientific Associate of The Natural History Museum in London. In 2002, he was honoured with an Acharius Medal by the International Association for Lichenology. He married Patricia Wiltshire, a leading forensic ecologist and palynologist in 2009. As of 2022, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the journals IMA Fungus and Biodiversity and Conservation.
Ophiocordyceps is a genus of fungi within the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. The widespread genus, first described scientifically by British mycologist Tom Petch in 1931, contains about 140 species that grow on insects. Anamorphic genera that correspond with Ophiocordyceps species are Hirsutella, Hymenostilbe, Isaria, Paraisaria, and Syngliocladium.
Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth is a 2020 non-fiction book on issues undermining scientific research by Scottish psychologist Stuart J. Ritchie. It was published by Metropolitan Books on July 14, 2020 and is Ritchie's second book. Science Fictions was nominated for the £25,000 Royal Society Prize for Science Books but lost out to Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life.
Cecil Terence Ingold CMG was "one of the most influential mycologists of the twentieth century". He was president of the British Mycological Society where he organised the first international congress of mycologists. An entire class of aquatic fungi within the Pleosporales, the Ingoldian fungi, were named after him, although recent DNA studies are changing the scientific names.
Jill Purce is a British voice teacher, Family Constellations therapist, and author. In the 1970s, Purce developed a new way of working with the voice, introducing the teaching of group overtone chanting, producing a single note whilst amplifying vocal harmonics. She is a former fellow of King's College London, Biophysics Department. She produced over 30 books as general editor of the Thames and Hudson Art and Imagination series. Between 1971 and 1974, she worked in Germany with the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Since the early 1970s, she has taught diverse forms of contemplative chant, especially overtone chanting. For over 15 years, she has been leading Family Constellations combined with chant.
Cosmo Christopher Sheldrake is an English musician, composer, and producer. He is the son of parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake and voice teacher Jill Purce, and the brother of biologist Merlin Sheldrake. He released his first single, "The Moss"/"Solar", in 2014 and followed it up with the Pelicans We EP in 2015.
Stuart James Ritchie is a Scottish psychologist and science communicator known for his research in human intelligence. He works at the artificial intelligence research company Anthropic.
Geoffrey Michael Gadd is a British-Irish microbiologist and mycologist specializing in geomicrobiology, geomycology, and bioremediation. He is currently a professor at the University of Dundee, holding the Boyd Baxter Chair of Biology, and is head of the Geomicrobiology Group.
Giuliana Furci OSI is a field mycologist, speaker, author, and founder and CEO of the Fungi Foundation. She is a Harvard University associate, National Geographic Explorer, Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy, deputy chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee, and author of several titles including a series of field guides to Chilean fungi and co-author of titles such as the 1st State of the World's Fungi and the publication delimiting the term “funga” and the 3F Proposal - Fauna, Flora & Funga. Giuliana has held consulting positions in U.S. philanthropic foundations as well as full-time positions in international and Chilean marine conservation non-profits. She sits on the Board of Fundación Acción Fauna, and on the advisory board of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), and other organizations. Giuliana has received several distinctions including the 2022 Buffett/National Geographic Leadership in Conservation in Latin America Award, 2022 Gordon and Tina Wasson Award from the Mycological Society of America, and the 2013 Presidents Award from the International Society for Fungal Conservation.
Fungi are a common theme and working material in art. Fungi appear in nearly all art forms, including literature, paintings, and graphic arts; and more recently, contemporary art, music, photography, comic books, sculptures, video games, dance, cuisine, architecture, fashion, and design. There are some exhibitions dedicated to fungi, as well as an entire museum.
Noa Kalos, or MycoLyco, is an American mushroom enthusiast, musician and TikToker.
Merlin Sheldrake is a British mycologist and writer known for his work on mycorrhiza.
