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

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

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  • Create Date：2021-03-25 10:27:21
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Merlin Sheldrake
  • ISBN：1847925200
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Summary

‘A dazzling， vibrant， vision-changing book。 Sentence after sentence stopped me short。 I ended it wonderstruck at the fungal world。 A remarkable work by a remarkable writer’ ROBERT MACFARLANE， author of Underland

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

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

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

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

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Reviews

Erica ，

This took me awhile to finish。 Every page or two something would pique my interest and I'd fall down a wiki-hole of research for a hour or two。 A good balance of science and poetry。 "Carl Linnaeus， the eighteenth-century Swedish botanist who devised the modern taxonomic system， wrote in 1751 that 'The order of Fungi is still Chaos， a scandal of art， no botanist knowing what is a Species and what is a Variety。'"If you find fungi fascinating， pick this one up！ This took me awhile to finish。 Every page or two something would pique my interest and I'd fall down a wiki-hole of research for a hour or two。 A good balance of science and poetry。 "Carl Linnaeus， the eighteenth-century Swedish botanist who devised the modern taxonomic system， wrote in 1751 that 'The order of Fungi is still Chaos， a scandal of art， no botanist knowing what is a Species and what is a Variety。'"If you find fungi fascinating， pick this one up！ 。。。more

Dushan Hanuska ，

Great book that references lots of data and mentions other books worth reading。 It’s definitely a book that will broaden your understanding of the topic of fungi。

Parker Sanchez ，

This was incredible， one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read。 I learned so much not only about fungi but about the past and the future of life。 Really beautifully narrated by the author。 Great book top 3 so far 2021

Prince Mendax ，

the wood wide web <3

Samuel Oktavianus ，

I had a lot of expectations for this book。 I was interested in learning more about fungi in general， especially their history/evolution。 Instead， Entangled Life explores a more practical side of fungi， like how they can be a benefit to society， and how they can play a big role in the future。 Every chapter rotates around different fungi-related topics， from luxury truffles to synthetic drugs to fungi architecture。I think this book fails in laying out a basic foundation for the audience。 Most of t I had a lot of expectations for this book。 I was interested in learning more about fungi in general， especially their history/evolution。 Instead， Entangled Life explores a more practical side of fungi， like how they can be a benefit to society， and how they can play a big role in the future。 Every chapter rotates around different fungi-related topics， from luxury truffles to synthetic drugs to fungi architecture。I think this book fails in laying out a basic foundation for the audience。 Most of the explanations in the book tend to get too technical for someone who isn't familiar with the field of biology/fungi。 Sometimes some chapters really bore me， but not because of the writing。 I think it's more because of the topics that are selected。 There isn't a lot of rewarding things to learn， too。However， I love the writing of this book。 I found a lot of science metaphors that were really poetic。 Also， the illustrations simply blow me away。 I just love those types of complex plant/mushroom illustrations。 。。。more

Jenn Adams ，

Loved listening to this。 Really wide range of information about fungi， which are probably a lot more interesting than you think。2020 Goodreads Choice Nom

Ryan Kelly ，

Informative， enjoyable。 Read it！

AFknUsername ，

Fascinating and eye opening

Kristina Wright ，

While slow at times （for me）， I still give this book 4 stars because I did learn a lot and honestly， I give the author a ton of credit for how well written and intelligently the content is presented。

Andrew Ayres ，

I now know more about fungi but understand less。 So thanks for that Merlin， I think。。。。

Veronica Watson ，

Succinct to the point of wanting more。 I wish this book was longer because it was so well written， beautiful， philosophical， curious， open minded and refreshingly unburdened。 It's not overly academic （although I wouldn't mind that） and incredibly readable。 Writing: A+Research and Accuracy: A+ Hypothesis: A Succinct to the point of wanting more。 I wish this book was longer because it was so well written， beautiful， philosophical， curious， open minded and refreshingly unburdened。 It's not overly academic （although I wouldn't mind that） and incredibly readable。 Writing: A+Research and Accuracy: A+ Hypothesis: A 。。。more

Regina Froland ，

I found the book very interesting， never new fungi were so adaptable and resourceful。 Would like to see this book made into a documentary。

Hannah ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Entangled Life p。46 The biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer， a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of the Great Plains of the United States， observes that indigenous Potawatomi language is rich in verb forms that attribute aliveness to the more-than-human world。 The word for hill， for example， is a verb: ‘to be a hill”。 Hills are always in the process of hiling， they are actively being hills。 Equipped with this ‘grammar of animacy’ it is possible to talk about the life of other organisms without e Entangled Life p。46 The biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer， a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of the Great Plains of the United States， observes that indigenous Potawatomi language is rich in verb forms that attribute aliveness to the more-than-human world。 The word for hill， for example， is a verb: ‘to be a hill”。 Hills are always in the process of hiling， they are actively being hills。 Equipped with this ‘grammar of animacy’ it is possible to talk about the life of other organisms without either reducing them to an ‘it’， or borrowing concepts traditionally reserved for humans。 By contrast， in English， writes Kimmerer， there is no way to recognise the ‘simple existence of another living being’。 If you’re not a human subject， by default you’re an inanimate object: an ‘it’， a ‘mere thing。’ If you repurpose a human concept to make snese of the life of a non-human organism， you’ve tumbled into the trap of anthropromorphism。 Use ‘it’ and you’ve objectified the organism， and fallen into a different kind of trap。p。52 Mycelium is ecological connective tissue， the living seam by which much of the world is stitched into relation。 p。60 As William Bateson observed， ‘We commonly think of animals and plants as matter， but they are really systems through which matter is continuously passing。” When we see an organism， from a fungus to a pine tree， we catch a single moment in its continual development。 Mycelium – streams of embodiment。 2013 university of California looke at contents surging through the hyphae in network。 Their videos show hordes of nuclei surging along。 p。74 in 1940， the Nobel Prize winning neurobiologist Charles Sherrington described the human brain as ‘an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern。’ WOW FLATWORm P。74 The researchers wondered whether， if they trained。a flatworm to remember features of its environment and then cut its head off， it would retain the memory when it had grown a new head and brain。 Remarkably， the answer is yes。 The flatworm’s memory appeared to reside in a part of the body outside of the brain。 87 – Lederberg transformed history of life。 He found that bacteria could trade genes with each other。 One bacterium could acquire a trait from another bacterium ‘horizontally’。 Characteristics acquired ‘horizontally’ are those that aren’t inherited ‘vertically’ from one’s parents。 GENES ARE INFECTIOUS in bacterium。 Lederberg won a Nobel prize at the age of 33。 Genomes are not closed systems。 When a volcano creates a new island in the middle of the pacific ocean， the first thing to grow on the bare rocks are lichens， which arrive as spores and fragmetnts carried by the wind or birds。 Likewise when a glacier retreats。 The growth of lichens of freshly exposed rocks is a variation on the theme of pansermia。 These bare surfaces are inhospitable islands， remote possibilities for most orgasnism， barren， seared by intense radiation and exposed to wild storms and temperature fluntuations， they may as well be other planets。 p。99 lichens are places where an organisms unravels into an ecosystem and where an ecosystem congeals into an organisms。 They flicker between wholes and collections of past。 INDIVIDUAL comes from Latin， meaning undividiable。 Lichens never just one algae and one fungys， it’s like four five si Lol queer theory and lichens。 P。102 Our michondria have their own genome， as do plants’ chloroplasts， and at least 8 percent of the human genome orginated in viruses （we can even swap cells with other humans when we grow into ‘chimeras’ formed when mothers and foetuses exvhange cells or genetic material in utero。） P。108 Zombie Fungi – ophopcordyceps。 In 2017 a team headed by David Hughes， a leading expert on fungal manipulative behaviours， infected ants with Ophiocordyceps in the lab。 The researchers preserved the ants’ bodies at the moment of their death bite， sliced them into thin pieces and reconstructed a three dimensional pictures of the fungus living within their tissues。 They found that the fungus becomes， to an unstelling degree， a prosthetic organ of ants’ bodies。 As much as 40 percent of the biomass of an infected ant is fungus。 Hyphae wind through their body cavities， from heads and legds， emesh their muscle fibres， and coordinate their activities via an interconnected mycelial network。 However， in the ants’ brains， the fungus is conspicuous in its absence。 To hughes and his team， this was unexpected。 They anticipated that the fungus would have to be in the ants’ brains to exert such a fine control over its behaviour。 111。 Ergot fungi induce a grisly portfolio of side effects from hallucinations to convulsions to a sensation of unbearavle burning…。 A number of horrors depicted by the renaissance painter Hierobymous Bosch are thought to have been inspired by symptoms of ergot poisoning， and some hypothesize that the number of outbreaks of ‘dancing mania’ between the fourteenth and seventeenth century， in which hundreds of townspeople took to dancing for days without rest， were caused by convulsive ergotism。 117 In The Extended Phenotype， Richard Dawkins points out that genes don’t just provide the instructions to build the body of an organism。 They also provide instructions to build certain behaviours。 A bird’s nest is part of the outward expression of the bird’s genome。 A beaver’s dam is the outward expressions of a beaver’s genome。 And an ant’s death grip is part of the outward expression of the genome of the phiocordyceps fungi。 Through inherited behaviours， Dawkins’ argues， the outward expression of an organisms’ genes – known as its ‘phenotype’ 0 extends into the world。 Disrupt the ecology of the microbes that live in your gut， and your health will suffer – a growing number of human diseases are known to arise because of efforts to rid ourselves of ‘germs’。 Disrupt the rich ecology of microbes that live in the soil – the guts of the planet – and the health of the plants too will suffer。 MONTROPA UNIFLORA – Ghost pipes， long gave up their ability to photosynthesis- pacific north west of America。 p。240 ‘Drunkenness’ the French theorist Giles Deleuze writes ‘is a triumphant eruption of the plant in us。” “Our hands imbibe like roots so I place them on what is beautiful in this world。” St Francis of Assissi。 。。。more

Olivia Stransky ，

Giving this 4 only because it was a little more dense than I could easily follow， as someone who repeatedly barely scraped by in biology。 But it's a wonderful book。 Giving this 4 only because it was a little more dense than I could easily follow， as someone who repeatedly barely scraped by in biology。 But it's a wonderful book。 。。。more

Stephen ，

Vacillated wildly between topics about fungi and struggled to maintain a coherent through-line。 When it had interesting information， it tended to be very interesting。 If it was going to go the more disconnected vignettes route， it might have benefitted from shorter， more focused， chapters。

Dagmik ，

Naúčnu literatúru nečítam， ale toto bola top kniha。 Milujem hríby a všetko okolo nich， táto kniha prehĺbila moju lásku， dokonca si chcem založiť nejaký biznis s nimi #dreamjob。Ale nebolo to len o hríboch， boli tam aj všeobecné informácie o svete， o ktorých som netušila a boli veľmi zaujímavé。 Napísané čítavým spôsobom， nie úplne vedecké， že by sa ňou človek musel prekúsavať。 Knihu， ktorú musím mať vo svojej knižnici， dokonca chcem kúpiť jednu naviac pre kamarátov， aby sa požičiavala a šírila sa Naúčnu literatúru nečítam， ale toto bola top kniha。 Milujem hríby a všetko okolo nich， táto kniha prehĺbila moju lásku， dokonca si chcem založiť nejaký biznis s nimi #dreamjob。Ale nebolo to len o hríboch， boli tam aj všeobecné informácie o svete， o ktorých som netušila a boli veľmi zaujímavé。 Napísané čítavým spôsobom， nie úplne vedecké， že by sa ňou človek musel prekúsavať。 Knihu， ktorú musím mať vo svojej knižnici， dokonca chcem kúpiť jednu naviac pre kamarátov， aby sa požičiavala a šírila sa tá láska ďalej。 #tototrebacitat 。。。more

Carie Steele ，

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in mycology。 Some sections were exceptionally interesting and well written， but I found the book as a whole uneven。 There were some chapters that I felt were tangents and detracted from on otherwise excellent， interesting， and coherent book。

Joe Archer ，

I thought this was interesting， I’m just getting a little burned out on philosophical biology books。 I get that our anthropocentric view of the world is inhibiting our understanding of the complexities of life and consciousness; I was hoping for more crunchy ecology details and fungi facts。

Daniel Hinze ，

Filled with fascinating info， truly an area of science we're still just scratching the surface on。 Filled with fascinating info， truly an area of science we're still just scratching the surface on。 。。。more

Joseph Lellman ，

It was well written， and interesting。。。 to a point。 It was a little more than I ever wanted to know about fungi。

Ieva Litinska ，

An entertaining book that makes you look at the world differently and discover new ways of thinking about every day things we take for granted。

Kenna ，

I loved this wonderful ode to fungi！ This part science， part memoir， part fungal-inspired philosophy book had me learning about new interesting fungal anecdotes on almost every page。 I felt that the author did a great job of breaking down scientific concepts in a way that was accessible to both scientists and people who are interested in fungi but don't have a background in research science。 The author follows a main theme throughout the book exploring how fungi test our human-made classificatio I loved this wonderful ode to fungi！ This part science， part memoir， part fungal-inspired philosophy book had me learning about new interesting fungal anecdotes on almost every page。 I felt that the author did a great job of breaking down scientific concepts in a way that was accessible to both scientists and people who are interested in fungi but don't have a background in research science。 The author follows a main theme throughout the book exploring how fungi test our human-made classifications and categories， using anecdotes to share some incredible things about fungi。 I loved learning about mycoheterotrophs， prototaxites， shaggy ink cap mushroom （Coprinus comatus） ink， zombie-ant fungus， and fungal endophytes。 I did feel like there was some parts to the book that he could have dived into more， such as his participation in an LSD experiment and a more in depth look at some of his own research。 The book jumps around from topic to topic which made it unclear where we were headed a lot of the time。 I think a more clear organization of the topics explored in the book and more relevant chapter descriptions would benefit the book。 That being said， everything in the book felt tied together to how fungi break our human-made scientific categories。 I loved this quote: “These organisms make questions of our categories， and thinking about them makes the world look different… I have tried to find ways to enjoy the ambiguities that fungi present， but it’s not always easy to be comfortable in the space created by open questions。” 。。。more

Gabriel Thurau ，

A gateway to the wide， wonderful world of mycelium， mycorrhiza， and our many friends under the soil。

Bridget Mahony ，

there are so many fascinating bits of information in this book （people growing edible ！！ mushrooms ！！ from dirty diapers ！！ and used cigarette butts ！！）， but unfortunately most of the value lies in the factual information， whereas the writing really does not add much—i found the book pretty disorganized and hard to follow

Maico Morellini ，

"Riformulando un concetto umano per comprendere la vita di un organismo non umano si cade nella trappola dell'antropomorfismo; considerando un organismo una 'cosa'， si cade in un'altra trappola diversa。Se le entità biologiche non sono mai bianche o nere， perché dovrebbero esserlo le storie e le metafore - i nostri strumenti di indagine - con cui cerchiamo di comprendere il mondo？ Riusciremo mai ad ampliare alcuni dei concetti che usiamo di solito， così che per parlare non serva necessariamente u "Riformulando un concetto umano per comprendere la vita di un organismo non umano si cade nella trappola dell'antropomorfismo; considerando un organismo una 'cosa'， si cade in un'altra trappola diversa。Se le entità biologiche non sono mai bianche o nere， perché dovrebbero esserlo le storie e le metafore - i nostri strumenti di indagine - con cui cerchiamo di comprendere il mondo？ Riusciremo mai ad ampliare alcuni dei concetti che usiamo di solito， così che per parlare non serva necessariamente un bocca， per udire non servano le orecchie e per interpretare non serva un sistema nervoso？ E saremo in grado di farlo senza soffocare altre forme di vita con pregiudizi e ambiguità？"Questo libro è sorprendente， e lo è in due modi。 Lo é se si approccia alla ricca e documentata analisi di Merlin Sheldrake limitandoci ad accogliere le meraviglie che il mondo dei funghi nasconde。 Perché il mondo che l'autore ci permette di intuire è davvero una sorpresa continua。 Lo è nella capacità dei funghi di riprodurre （e migliorare） le architetture umane， e nel farlo mentre semplicemente vivono。 Lo è nella loro incredibile potenzialità di 'risolutori di labirinti'。 Lo è nel modo con cui influenzano la mente e il corpo di creature che nel senso comune vengono considerate superiore （non è incredibile che noi esseri umani ci siamo organizzati per fare in modo che un tartufo appena colto arrivi in un ristorante dall'altra parte del mondo in meno di 48 ore？）。Ma， più di tutto， lo è nel suo modo di aprire la mente。 Sheldrake utilizza l'ordine nascosto dei funghi， la loro rete miceliale， l'unicità dei licheni e della simbiosi tra piante e funghi come catalizzatore di pensiero。 Così tesse legami tra il nostro linguaggio e la capacità di comprendere il mondo dei funghi: è forse un caso che il concetto di simbiosi collaborativa tra esseri viventi abbia trovato un terreno più fertile su cui attecchire dove questo modello era immaginabile anche nelle socialità quotidiana？ Dove la collaborazione era un'alternativa possibile e reale alla concorrenza？Si spinge oltre。 Utilizza le profonde simbiosi tra funghi e piante per illuminare da un punto di vista differente il principio evolutivo della 'sopravvivenza del più forte' e lo fa attraverso il 'wood wide web'， una rete incredibile di sussistenza energetica tra piante， funghi e ancora piante。 Una 'involuzione' del tutto collaborativa。 E， ultimo ma non ultimo， Sheldrake setaccia il passato alla ricerca della simbiosi tra esseri umani e funghi e scopre quanto - esattamente come accade per il tartufo - funghi e lieviti abbiano da sempre intrecciato la loro esistenza con la nostra。 Anche attraverso le psilocibina， sostanza allucinogena di origine fungina intorno a cui si attorcigliano vere e proprie rivoluzioni mentali。 Suggestivo il concetto di 'linguaggio dei funghi'。Sheldrake perciò offre opportunità。 Opportunità di scoprire una biologia affascinante e al tempo tesso l'opportunità di ridisegnare il mondo cambiando punto di vista。 Di abbandonare il rigido antropocentrismo che ci contraddistingue e provare a cambiare paradigma， provare ad assimilare il concetto di simbiosi nel senso più esteso del termine。Lo ripeto: per me una lettura sorprendente e illuminante。 Incontrare un testo che offre la possibilità di mettere （e mettersi） in discussione è alla base della curiosità che credo sia doveroso condividere。 。。。more

Caty Clifton ，

Exciting tour of the wild world of fungi， entertaining and informative。

Leanne ，

During the multiple lockdowns of the pandemic， I happily jumped down the rabbit hole from baking sourdough to fermenting kimchi to foraging mushrooms。 This book provided scientific and historical context for the fungi I've grown to love， from lichens （"queer beings that present ways for humans to think beyond a rigid binary framework"） to psilocybin （facilitators of "mystical experiences。。。 feelings of awe; of everything being interconnected; of transcending time and space; of profound intuitive During the multiple lockdowns of the pandemic， I happily jumped down the rabbit hole from baking sourdough to fermenting kimchi to foraging mushrooms。 This book provided scientific and historical context for the fungi I've grown to love， from lichens （"queer beings that present ways for humans to think beyond a rigid binary framework"） to psilocybin （facilitators of "mystical experiences。。。 feelings of awe; of everything being interconnected; of transcending time and space; of profound intuitive understanding about the nature of reality; and of deeply felt love， peace， or joy。 They often include the loss of a clearly defined sense of self"） to mycorrhizal networks （"places of caring， sharing， and mutual aid through which plants can free themselves from the rigid hierarchies of competition for resources"） to yeast （"the primary beneficiaries of humans' earliest agricultural efforts。。。 in many ways， you might argue， yeasts have domesticated us"）。 Sheldrake cautions against the political baggage of anthropomorphizing nature， and I'll admit I have a fondness for countercultural thinking， but the facts all seem to point to the same conclusion: as microbial scientific discoveries blur the boundaries between organisms， the individualistic logic of capitalism begins to fall apart。 Reading Entangled Life， I expected to learn some cool facts about fungi。 Instead， I left feeling awed， altered， and inspired by fungi's radical existence。 。。。more

Document Of Books ，

Such an entertaining and informative book！ I thoroughly enjoyed this， can't wait for the author to write more work！ Such an entertaining and informative book！ I thoroughly enjoyed this， can't wait for the author to write more work！ 。。。more

frē ，

De trip was beter :-） Ik had mijn verwachtingen wellicht iets te hoog gesteld。 Al bij al een interessante read。 De schrijver gaat af en toe uit de bocht wanneer hij de lyrische toer op gaat。

Jacob Fuqua ，

Amazing insight into the world beneath our feet。 Fungi are such bizarre and interesting organisms。

Reference

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

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

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