Fungi and Human Life - by Nicholas P Money (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The incredible, hidden role of fungi in our lives

From beneficial yeasts that aid digestion to toxic molds that cause disease, we are constantly navigating a world filled with fungi. Fungi and Human Life explores the amazing ways fungi interact with our bodies, showing how our health and well-being depend on an immense ecosystem of yeasts and molds inside and all around us.

Nicholas Money takes readers on a guided tour of a marvelous unseen realm, describing how our immune systems are engaged in continuous conversation with the teeming mycobiome inside the body, and how we can fall prey to serious and even life-threatening infections when this peaceful coexistence is disturbed. He also sheds light on our complicated relationship with fungi outside the body, from wild mushrooms and cultivated molds that have been staples of the human diet for millennia to the controversial experimentation with magic mushrooms in the treatment of depression.

Drawing on the latest advances in mycology, Fungi and Human Life reveals what scientists are learning about the importance of fungi to our lives, from their vital role in supporting the ecosystems on which we depend to their emerging uses in lifesaving medicine.

Review Quotes

"[This book is] so well written. Money's wry wit is so engaging and humorous that even if the subject . . . isn't something normally on your radar, I am confident that you will very much enjoy this book."---Britt A. Bunyard, Fungi Magazine

"A fine introduction to a formidable form of life."---Tony Miksanek, Booklist

"A very informative read."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer

"All of the content is presented in a factual, clear and concise manner. It also contains a few hints of humor."---Neil Dollinger, Inoculum

"Engaging and informative. . . . An amusingly written opus on fungi."---Debbie Viess, Mycophile Quarterly

"Our lifelong relationship with fungi is thoroughly outlined in this absorbing survey."---Mike Leggett, Leonardo Reviews

"This book is everything any decent person would want to know about fungus, and by the time Money gets into full swing, even the most reluctant reader will want to know more."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Review

"Well researched, informative, and yet incredibly accessible and at times quite humorous, Money's book reminds readers of the importance of relying on evidence when making claims about curative and restorative treatments found in published scholarship."---Z. G. Ngow, Choice

"What a fine book! . . . Nicholas Money writes with a fluid, easy style and like so many scientists today displays a superb ability to inject snippets of wry humour into serious discussion."---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds

About the Author

Nicholas P. Money is professor of biology at Miami University in Ohio and the author of many books, including The Rise of Yeast: How the Sugar Fungus Shaped Civilization, Mushrooms: A Natural and Cultural History, and Microbiology: A Very Short Introduction.