The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins
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- Author：Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
- ISBN：0691178321
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Summary
What a rare mushroom can teach us about sustaining life on a fragile planet
Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world--and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere。 Through its ability to nurture trees， matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places。 It is also an edible delicacy in Japan， where it sometimes commands astronomical prices。 In all its contradictions， matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made？
A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes， The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism。 Here， we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets， capitalist traders， Hmong jungle fighters， industrial forests， Yi Chinese goat herders， Finnish nature guides， and more。 These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction。
By investigating one of the world's most sought-after fungi， The Mushroom at the End of the World presents an original examination into the relation between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes， the prerequisite for continuing life on earth。
Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world--and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere。 Through its ability to nurture trees， matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places。 It is also an edible delicacy in Japan， where it sometimes commands astronomical prices。 In all its contradictions， matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made？
A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes， The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism。 Here， we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets， capitalist traders， Hmong jungle fighters， industrial forests， Yi Chinese goat herders， Finnish nature guides， and more。 These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction。
By investigating one of the world's most sought-after fungi， The Mushroom at the End of the World presents an original examination into the relation between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes， the prerequisite for continuing life on earth。
Reviews
Michele
，
Il titolo dell'introduzione del libro è: "permettere intrecci"， e penso che chiarisca molto bene cosa ci si troverà davanti nelle successive 400 pagine。Il libro è infatti una lunga serie di storie tutte più o meno legate al fungo matsutake。 Ci sono veramente molti spunti interessanti che però non vengono approfonditi più di tanto。Ho apprezzato molto il passaggio dove si sottolinea che una foresta lasciata a sé stessa， senza interventi umani non sia necessariamente una foresta sana。 Si demolisce Il titolo dell'introduzione del libro è: "permettere intrecci"， e penso che chiarisca molto bene cosa ci si troverà davanti nelle successive 400 pagine。Il libro è infatti una lunga serie di storie tutte più o meno legate al fungo matsutake。 Ci sono veramente molti spunti interessanti che però non vengono approfonditi più di tanto。Ho apprezzato molto il passaggio dove si sottolinea che una foresta lasciata a sé stessa， senza interventi umani non sia necessariamente una foresta sana。 Si demolisce il binomio uomo/natura in favore di una concezione unitaria dove la simbiosi è centrale。In conclusione più che un saggio con una tesi chiara e argomentata questo libro è più una raccolta di storie （si sente l'influenza di Haraway） che ti fa venire una gran voglia di fare una passeggiata in un bosco。 。。。more
Shanti
，
Pretty good--ead for class--but also quite disjointed and hard to follow。 Anna Tsing seemed to be having a good time， which is good！
Kristen Byers
，
This book uses matsutake as a lens for capitalism and shows the multifaceted nature of picking， buying， and selling these particular mushrooms in Oregon， Finland， and Japan。 Surprisingly lyrical writing for an academic book; I read this for an academic book club and was surprised how much I enjoyed it。
Gina
，
I （and others， it seems） thought the core of this book was supposed to be the surprising， maybe even hopeful， aftermath of capitalist destruction， but there's a lot more focus on the ethnography of matsutake pickers in Oregon before the book veers off into forest management。 It was interesting enough， but I truly did not understand the role of the intermediaries between the pickers and Japanese wholesalers and retailers （the phrase cultural translation was used a lot， but how many layers of that I （and others， it seems） thought the core of this book was supposed to be the surprising， maybe even hopeful， aftermath of capitalist destruction， but there's a lot more focus on the ethnography of matsutake pickers in Oregon before the book veers off into forest management。 It was interesting enough， but I truly did not understand the role of the intermediaries between the pickers and Japanese wholesalers and retailers （the phrase cultural translation was used a lot， but how many layers of that do you need？）。 The structure is informed by mushrooms and forest life， patchy and connected in a bunch of places， but that doesn't necessarily make for a fun read when you're not familiar with the subject and need a lot of explanation。 The endless questions pointing at weird metaphors got grating。 But at least it was something different。 。。。more
Ben Lucas
，
I appreciated the work of the author。 If someone is interested in the boundaries between mushroom foragers and entrepreneurship as it relates to capitalism and the natural world， this is an excellent read。 I struggled however with obtuse vocabulary and meandering stories。 The latter seemed an intentional mirroring of the sporadic growth of mushrooms， but the overly indulgent vocab lacked clarity。
Amanda
，
2。5 starsnot the book's fault that I don't have any knowledge of the subject。 Super dense and good for people in anthropology though I can assume 2。5 starsnot the book's fault that I don't have any knowledge of the subject。 Super dense and good for people in anthropology though I can assume 。。。more
Tj Sandstrom
，
Was this a novel， academic prose， or personal narrative？ The answer: a little bit of everything。 I loved how Tsing incorporated her own research， ideas， questions and experience into this dense and thoughtful piece of writing。 I had never heard of the Matsutake mushroom before reading this book， however I had heard of and live within Capitalism every day。 I found this book a very interesting question-guide to life and different perspectives people have on what life "should" be。 One of the most i Was this a novel， academic prose， or personal narrative？ The answer: a little bit of everything。 I loved how Tsing incorporated her own research， ideas， questions and experience into this dense and thoughtful piece of writing。 I had never heard of the Matsutake mushroom before reading this book， however I had heard of and live within Capitalism every day。 I found this book a very interesting question-guide to life and different perspectives people have on what life "should" be。 One of the most interesting parts for me， was learning about "successful buyers" who leave their home towns， only to return to them in order to gather the goods that they will then sell。 These buyers no longer reside in the home towns， but still come back in order to make their living。 This to me shows how we can never truly leave our roots behind， even if we must wander a little in order to find a platform in which an individual experiences home and comfort。 。。。more
Miriam
，
I appreciated the structure and format of this book: short chapters， tackling small pieces of the argument; a recognition the whole way through of the author's role in the creation of knowledge， alongside a collection of other experts and participants; a balance between what she wanted to describe and the reasons for using such techniques in her description; her symbolic use of mushrooms to make connections to the human world （ideas spread like mushroom networks BUT there are also "spores" that I appreciated the structure and format of this book: short chapters， tackling small pieces of the argument; a recognition the whole way through of the author's role in the creation of knowledge， alongside a collection of other experts and participants; a balance between what she wanted to describe and the reasons for using such techniques in her description; her symbolic use of mushrooms to make connections to the human world （ideas spread like mushroom networks BUT there are also "spores" that can introduce new genes or lines of thinking， for example）。Having said that， I don't think it was I expected。 I think I expected something more definite， like HOW to live in capitalist ruins。 That turned out to be opposite of her goal。 With precarity， the growing state of things in the world （despite the promises of "progress" and "modernization"） IS uncertain， and people will have to figure out how to exist in/with that （they are already doing it）。 So， yes， there are descriptions of how people live in capitalist ruins， but they are descriptive not proscriptive， and that's by design。 And I had a narrow expectation for the world "life" in the title。 I assumed this was a human story。 It's that but more: how people interact with other nonhuman actors in the world--plants， fungi， other animals。 And part of her point is that considering human actions as the most important or significant or worthy of study is missing out on whole sections of reality AND history。 That other species HAVE history！I enjoyed most the early chapters with the set up of her research strategy and the links between her world of study and the "real" world and her purposes for approaching all of this in these particular ways。 And the parts about history--whether that's human history or ecological development or some combination of lots of different things。 Her point that we （as societies， as individuals， as academics） get into grooves of thinking and have trouble seeing our way to different questions or to different ways of noticing is inspiring and just the kind of wake-up call I need in my own work and teaching。Some things I found interesting: Japanese postwar businesses outsourced labor and resource requirements to places like Taiwan to avoid the high import duties in the U。S。， and this led to incredible competition and to U。S。 businesses adopting such strategies and really getting known for such techniques， even though those techniques were developed precisely to compete with the Japanese in the first place。 If you only look at the U。S。 context， you miss this。 Same for most of her points: if you limit your field of study， you miss wider connections， which are all the more important because of the global linkages and effects we see all over the place。Now I want to try a matsutake mushroom。 。。。more
Judith
，
i don't know a single darn thing but maybe there's hope for us all yet， in the midst of precarity and salvage assemblages i don't know a single darn thing but maybe there's hope for us all yet， in the midst of precarity and salvage assemblages 。。。more
Shelby
，
I read this slowly and learned a lot from it。 Some of last few chapters were really， really worth the read。
Joe cool
，
the author is obviously overusing the word "precarity " the author is obviously overusing the word "precarity " 。。。more
Abby
，
So many people recommended this to me， and I was always unclear whether The Mushroom at the End of the World was or was not about literal mushrooms。 I’m here to tell you that it is。 Kinda。I don’t dog-ear books， but every page of this one is sprouting notes， brackets， and messy underlines。 It came out 5ish years ago， and that subtitle just keeps getting more #relatable。 “We are stuck with the problem of living despite economic and ecological ruination。 Neither tales of progress nor of ruin tell u So many people recommended this to me， and I was always unclear whether The Mushroom at the End of the World was or was not about literal mushrooms。 I’m here to tell you that it is。 Kinda。I don’t dog-ear books， but every page of this one is sprouting notes， brackets， and messy underlines。 It came out 5ish years ago， and that subtitle just keeps getting more #relatable。 “We are stuck with the problem of living despite economic and ecological ruination。 Neither tales of progress nor of ruin tell us how to think about collaborative survival。”Lately there is a trend in scholarship producing academic works that read like they just discovered creative nonfiction， and the marriage of genres is frankly more awkward than they seem to realize。 It’s a bit like musical theater--you need people who are both great actors and great singers， and that’s just not everyone。 But I think this scholarly book is getting popular attention in part because Tsing pulls off the demonstration of her methodology pretty well: “This is not just a story， then， but a method: big histories are always best told through insistent， if humble， details。” She has the academic tendency to operate by defining key terms （“Precarity is the condition of being vulnerable to others”）， and her chapter endings tend to be a little cinematic。 But her jumble of short chapters， quotations， and photographs is both beautiful and a sturdy scholarly tool。The first part of the book is pretty hard-core economic theory， at least for me， and I often had to work for it， but at least the dissolution of 20th century salary-and-benefits aspirations feels familiar。 Like， none of us have jobs by those standards。 And she touches on it， but I wish she could have delved a bit deeper into the way many people （refugees and rich kids alike） don’t want that package， and how the gig economy--mushroom picking--is not just a necessity in the absence of “real” jobs but also often an attractive way of structuring your life。 It seems relevant to her broader point of aiming toward livability in the midst of constant and creative exploitation。Environmental history in the second half was much more my comfort zone。 And although the arguments and content of the book， the case studies of living in fragments and connections， did make my brain puff and whir， the takeaways I’m banking for future reference are all about method。 There are real gems here about how to collaborate， how to write， how to research， how to smell， how to hobble through the possibility of life in capitalist ruins。 The bulk of the fieldwork seems to have been done 2008ish， and after reading the book even the 7 years to publication seems a miraculous turnaround for the amount of work this analysis represents。 Now back to texting everyone: "Have you read this？ Can we talk about it？？" 。。。more
Sezen Yasar
，
There is， ı gain， a pair of new eyes to look around me ， what surrounds me。 New life possibilities born ın ruın with contaminatıon and resilience but also co-dependency between species。 The other lesson you can learn from the book art of noticing of the assemblages （or relationships）。''…one could say that pines， matsutake， and humans all cultivate each other unintentionally。 They make each other’s world-making projects possible。 This idiom has allowed me to consider how landscapes more generally There is， ı gain， a pair of new eyes to look around me ， what surrounds me。 New life possibilities born ın ruın with contaminatıon and resilience but also co-dependency between species。 The other lesson you can learn from the book art of noticing of the assemblages （or relationships）。''…one could say that pines， matsutake， and humans all cultivate each other unintentionally。 They make each other’s world-making projects possible。 This idiom has allowed me to consider how landscapes more generally are products of unintentional design， that is， the overlapping world-making activities of many agents， human and not human。 The design is clear in the landscape’s ecosystem。 But none of the agents have planned this effect。 Humans join others in making land-scapes of unintentional design。 As sites for more-than-human dramas， landscapes are radical tools for decentering human hubris。 Landscapes are not backdrops for historical action: they are themselves active。 Watching landscapes in formation shows humans joining other living beings in shaping worlds。'' 。。。more
Gemma Field
，
'Mushroom at the end of the world' is a good example of the strengths and weaknesses of the Climate Change Metonymic Polemic。 The story of the matsutake， and it is a story， a narrative of the life of the matsutake， is fascinating。 Tsing links the disparate actors in a novel and useful way to describe a praxis she calls precarious living， as many of the human actors involved in the matsutake lifecycle and supply chain are part of a peri-capitalist labour formation， that is symbiotic with the mush 'Mushroom at the end of the world' is a good example of the strengths and weaknesses of the Climate Change Metonymic Polemic。 The story of the matsutake， and it is a story， a narrative of the life of the matsutake， is fascinating。 Tsing links the disparate actors in a novel and useful way to describe a praxis she calls precarious living， as many of the human actors involved in the matsutake lifecycle and supply chain are part of a peri-capitalist labour formation， that is symbiotic with the mushrooms and the larger ecology that the fungus needs to thrive。 More importantly， the mushroom story is a useful riff on Latour， in the sense of making his work intelligible。 The depth and extent of Tsing's research is tremendous， and the result is a compelling synthesis of anthropology， history and ecology。 However， when she strayed into economics， the logic grew a little thin。 She writes as though she personally has discovered supply chains and logistics， and when she described capitalism as a machine， I honestly felt a little embarrassed for her。 。。。more
Austin
，
Good mushroom！
Emma Grayson
，
discussing matsutake mushrooms in oregon and the necessity of diversity through “contamination”， how “transformation through。。。collaboration is the human condition，” but scalability shaped capitalist modernism （utilitarianism） skimmed because its definitely more of an academic text but easy to approach because of her story-telling and her varied adventures on the journey to writing the text
Cathie Thurgate
，
I loved this book。 I read it very slowly over a couple of months， I think partly to give me the thinking space to absorb all Tsing's ideas。 It's full of ideas。The Mushroom at the End of the World is Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing's book on her research into Matsutake picking in Europe and America。 Matsustake， one of the most expensive mushrooms in the world， only grows under very specific conditions， often in conditions where humans have "ruined" forests， such as the over-logged forests of Oregon in Amer I loved this book。 I read it very slowly over a couple of months， I think partly to give me the thinking space to absorb all Tsing's ideas。 It's full of ideas。The Mushroom at the End of the World is Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing's book on her research into Matsutake picking in Europe and America。 Matsustake， one of the most expensive mushrooms in the world， only grows under very specific conditions， often in conditions where humans have "ruined" forests， such as the over-logged forests of Oregon in America。This book takes Matsutake as a leaping off point to think about ecologies， human relationships to nature， the margins of capitalism， and the connections between people and societies all over the world。The book isn't a deep dive into capitalist theory， which I think some people who have negatively reviewed it were perhaps expecting。 If you want capitalist theory or theories about modern work then perhaps look elsewhere。 I've also read a lot of reviews which suggest that Tsing isn't critical enough of precarity and that the book suggests that precarity is good。 But I didn't have that same reading at all。 Exploring precarity， and the ways people living precariously can find hope and satisfaction through it， is not the same as suggesting it's a great thing for society。 We have to look and find hope in the now， even while we fight for something better。 The Mushroom at the End of The World is a super thoughtful book， meandering from history to ecology， from Yunnan to Oregon。 It made me pause and think about things。 It's enriching and interesting， nuanced and hopeful。Also how can I not love a book that starts and end with Ursula Le Guin quotes？ 。。。more
Sydney
，
★★½
Kristofer Grattan
，
Don't really like mushrooms but really liked this book （surprising）。 It is clear why Anna Tsing is renowned for the quality of her work。 A very comprehensive look at the impact of supply chain capitalism and the impacts it has on those living life in the ruins it leaves at the edges of the world。 Don't really like mushrooms but really liked this book （surprising）。 It is clear why Anna Tsing is renowned for the quality of her work。 A very comprehensive look at the impact of supply chain capitalism and the impacts it has on those living life in the ruins it leaves at the edges of the world。 。。。more
Interecophil
，
Unique take on how the human and non-human world are entangled， through the story of matsutake mushrooms， and how ecosystems come together in assemblages that are historically contingent， dynamic， surprising， and sometimes resist scalability and mass-cultivation。 Interesting reflection on living without the idea of "linear progress" and how to recognize and make a lives in the margins and ruins of capitalism and ecosystem destruction。 I also enjoyed how the author traces matsutake mushrooms into Unique take on how the human and non-human world are entangled， through the story of matsutake mushrooms， and how ecosystems come together in assemblages that are historically contingent， dynamic， surprising， and sometimes resist scalability and mass-cultivation。 Interesting reflection on living without the idea of "linear progress" and how to recognize and make a lives in the margins and ruins of capitalism and ecosystem destruction。 I also enjoyed how the author traces matsutake mushrooms into and out of capitalism as alienated goods vs being embedded meaningfully in a relationship with human and non-human others。 。。。more
Tessa DeConcini
，
Really fun to read and very captivating for being this kind of nonfiction book。 However， it attempts to explore too large a theme and should have just been a book about matsutake， it’s commodity chain， and all that Tsing has learned and wishes to teach us， rather than attempting also to comment on the whole of “salvage capitalism” and “the possibility of life in capitalist ruins”。 It never really gets there， so the reader is left wanting for what they were promised in the title。 Nevertheless， I Really fun to read and very captivating for being this kind of nonfiction book。 However， it attempts to explore too large a theme and should have just been a book about matsutake， it’s commodity chain， and all that Tsing has learned and wishes to teach us， rather than attempting also to comment on the whole of “salvage capitalism” and “the possibility of life in capitalist ruins”。 It never really gets there， so the reader is left wanting for what they were promised in the title。 Nevertheless， I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend heartily to others， with that disclaimer。 。。。more
Dylan
，
In a work that encompasses the entirety of our planet， Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing brings us on a journey surrounding one of the most unassuming characters in our natural world。 The matsutake mushroom is brought into frame as a jack of all trades: a habitat maintainer， a commodity within our world economy， as well as a delicacy across many cultures。 As a professor at the University of California， Santa Cruz Tsing has dedicated her career’s work towards establishing awareness of often overlooked commod In a work that encompasses the entirety of our planet， Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing brings us on a journey surrounding one of the most unassuming characters in our natural world。 The matsutake mushroom is brought into frame as a jack of all trades: a habitat maintainer， a commodity within our world economy， as well as a delicacy across many cultures。 As a professor at the University of California， Santa Cruz Tsing has dedicated her career’s work towards establishing awareness of often overlooked commodity chains， the communities surrounding them， and their impacts on our natural world。 In her previous works her diction was purely academic and matter-of-fact， whereas in The Mushroom At the End of the World she attempts to break out of her purely academic precedent。 This can be seen through Tsing’s informal prose surrounding the matsutake camps spread across Oregon， the supply chain to Japan， as well as the cultural significance of matsutake in many southeastern Asian countries。 tIn the forests of Oregon， Tsing finds an abundance of communities that have set up camp far from civilization in hopes of escaping the hegemony presented by the United States government。 These groups-many of which have moved to the United States from their homelands in Southeast Asia- main purpose is the gathering of matsutake mushrooms as a means to achieve economic freedom。 As Tsing follows along with members of these groups， she goes back and forth between describing the lush scenery of the surrounding area and the more abstract concepts that make these Oregonian communities sustainable。 As her companions are digging through the dirt looking for matsutake， she introduces us to a systems way of thinking about matsutake and how this complex supply chain provides livelihood and a sense of freedom to these communities。 The barter-esque economy that occurs between the buyers and sellers of matsutake after a good harvest shows us what a truly post-capitalist world could look like。 Dubbed Salvage Capitalism， Tsing attempts to immerse us in the lives of communities that live in a post-industrialist era。 In the case of Oregon， these Southeast Asian communities are making a livelihood in an area deemed by the logging industry as fruitless。After these industrial forests were ravaged by anthropocentric activities， we see the matsutake do what it does best-thrive in an ecosystem heavily disrupted by human action。 I found this term to be romantic in a sense。 The fact that communities find gold in the rough of an area that almost every other group has deemed useless is rather poetic and inspiring。 As our world continues to change more dramatically in the coming decades， salvage capitalism may need to be adopted in many areas of our everyday lives。 tTsing’s writing is thought-provoking to say the least。 She starts us off with this small， unassuming creature that is the matsutake， and enlarges it to encompass the entire concept of capitalism。 Early in the book， she establishes this theory of scalability， and emphasizes the importance if such a system is to be more than moderately successful。 She gives us the example of scalability within the sixteenth century sugarcane industry in the New World。 By establishing a slave trade route as well as a surefire way to produce ample sugarcane， they could expand their operations tenfold while using the same method that they started with。 In the same way， matsutake collectors have been successful in scalability due to the simplicity of their supply chain。 As long as they introduce more individuals to pick mushrooms， there will always be a buyer waiting to export the product， regardless of how much they pick。 She uses this to segue into a sort of system thinking model。 This kind of model was something that I was unfamiliar with before this book， and it has made me see connections and interrelationships that I otherwise would not have。 In a world in which we are taught that A causes B， Tsing shows us how A can cause B， but also the inverse。 The world is filled with complex relationships that humans try to simplify down to a “one-way street”。 Tsing shows us how from the concepts of forestry to capitalism there are numerous connections between elements that we would not have seen at first glance。 Overall， Tsing provides a jarring look into the possibilities of a life past capitalism and does a good job using situational analysis of different groups and geographies to prove her point。 However it does seem that her book skips around quite a bit in terms of the main focus。 While the title includes “On the possibility of life in capitalist ruins”， she talks a large amount about ecological landscapes as well as the presence of capitalism。 All of the processes that she describes in her book as community making within these different site analyses rely on the most barebones version of capitalism。 This led me to be confused as to what Tsing views as a post-capitalist world。 While this book is published with the intent of being an academic book， she attempts to add flair and robustness to her language。 While in theory this would be great， the attempt at incorporating romantic jargon into the piece does not translate well， and in the end comes across as someone trying too hard to be cutting edge。 Tsing’s attempt to go beyond the typical academic paper-while courageous-does not land well。 In trying to connect the smallest part-matsutake- to the large， abstract concept of capitalism she uses lofty language that is confusing and otherwise unnecessary。 In future publications it would be best for her to either commit to an academic or non-academic approach instead of dipping her toes into both pools。 I believe that this book would have been better off written in cohesive chapters that have a set concept in mind as well as a start and end。 This would contrast beautifully to the seemingly stream of consciousness style of writing that Tsing uses for most of her chapters。tHowever I regress。 Anna Tsing is not a revolutionary philosopher nor does claim to be。 She was able to deliver a well thought out book on a subject that in itself was a rather abstract concept。 Using anthropological sources as well as differing economic structures in her writing， she spans across multiple academic disciplines and enriches the reader’s understanding on the subject of commodity chains within hidden ecosystems and communities。 。。。more
Brandon
，
Prosaic and poetic in a way wholly unexpected from a non-fiction work about mcyology， ecology， and capitalism。 Loved it
Irene
，
Absolutely fascinating。 This book analyses the intersection among immigration of different Asian ethnic groups to the US， the search for financial independence that doesn't involve working for a wage， forest ecology and most of all， an in depth look at matsutake。 Absolutely fascinating。 This book analyses the intersection among immigration of different Asian ethnic groups to the US， the search for financial independence that doesn't involve working for a wage， forest ecology and most of all， an in depth look at matsutake。 。。。more
Jonáš Gruska
，
I really don’t get why this book is hyped so much。 I found maybe 10-15% of it interesting （mainly the etnography）， rest was either obvious or really hard to care about。 Oh and don’t even think about finding some new info about mushrooms in this book， it is mainly about building some theories on top of it （with actually very loose connection）。
Angel
，
“Even as entrepreneurs concentrate their private wealth through building alienation into commodities， they continue to draw from unrecognized entanglements。 The thrill of private ownership is the fruit of an underground common。” Such a unique read blending anthropology， economics， biology， and poetry in the lens of the matsutake global mushroom trade in its inherent inability to scale and its attraction to working in precarity。 Such a gem， want to read more about “translation” in terms of econom “Even as entrepreneurs concentrate their private wealth through building alienation into commodities， they continue to draw from unrecognized entanglements。 The thrill of private ownership is the fruit of an underground common。” Such a unique read blending anthropology， economics， biology， and poetry in the lens of the matsutake global mushroom trade in its inherent inability to scale and its attraction to working in precarity。 Such a gem， want to read more about “translation” in terms of economics and trade， the work that immigrants must do to assimilate and attract white Americans while also appeasing the markets in their home countries。 I also love her language around “patches” and “entanglements” for describing intersecting stories of natural history and human movements。 An affirming book that shows that the world needs to be more messy， and despite capitalism’s aim to stabilize growth and assets， salvage is produced and creates room for new ideas of wage labor and creating value 。。。more
Mark Nenadov
，
Some of the discussion of Matsutake and the culture surrounding it was very interesting， but overall I found it pretty bad and not worth reading。
EmmanuelleGM
，
J'ai adoré！ Vent de fraîcheur en anthropologie。 Son angle d'approche est super pertinent pour comprendre les dynamiques mondiales et locales。 Un "must"！ J'ai adoré！ Vent de fraîcheur en anthropologie。 Son angle d'approche est super pertinent pour comprendre les dynamiques mondiales et locales。 Un "must"！ 。。。more
A
，
This is a perspective we need to look at how we live in the world。 My pet peeve is that the reader of this audiobook needs to learn how to pronounce words correctly。 I winced every time something was mis-pronounced。
Corey Runkel
，