Entangled Life. How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that support and sustain nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understand- ing the planet on which we live and the ways we think, feel, and behave. In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake provides us with an exhilarating change of perspective by showing us the world from a fungal point of view.
Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, from the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as "the Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision. Fungi throw into question our concepts of individuality and even intelligence.
They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can alter our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are transforming our understanding of how life works.