Nilesh Jasani's Reviews > Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

Entangled Life is a must-read. For most readers like this reviewer, fungi will be a new topic, rarely discussed at length in any exciting way in popular books. The author simply hits it out of the park, again and again, all through in the most engaging ways. Each part makes you wonder how most of us have been so ignorant about critical aspects of such a vital life form.

Fungi are not just passive organisms. They are capable of complex behaviors, including communication, decision-making, and even learning. Their methods have so much to teach us about the complexities of natural life and our networks, including the web and the neural varieties.

One starts with the journey of these 1.5m or so species with the giant mycelial networks. If the reader is not spooked enough by the nature of their growth, there is more to follow in symbiotic relationships between fungi and algae and, later, fungi and plants. In between, readers are introduced to mycoremediation, the process by which fungi can help clean polluted soil or mycorrhizal networks, where fungi exchange nutrients with plants.

The Wood Wide Web is perhaps the most shocking, with its network of mycelia linking plant roots, facilitating communication and nutrient exchange. Or maybe, this should be reserved for psilocybin mushrooms (magic mushrooms) and the impact of their usage in various cultures. These are tricky waters; the author does well discussing psychedelics with depth, understanding, and respect, setting a foundation for their therapeutic uses.

In between molds and lichens, one comes across the familiar yeasts and popular poisonous mushrooms. Some fungi play a role in industrial processes for the chemicals they produce, and others preserve our nature by helping wood decay. The author has amusing anecdotes that link the disparate topics seamlessly without burdening readers with excessive theory (this is despite frequent discussions on topics like fungi cell structure, reproduction, and metabolism).

The subject's importance is matched by the author's extraordinary ability to explain, which makes it a compulsive and not just a compulsory read.