Customer Rating:  
Summary: Mushrooms demystified?
Comment: If I were a beginner, I would have been totally confused by this book. The problem comes from the dichotomous keys. They can be confusing and lead you in the totally wrong direction. The author says up-front, that there are several reasons you can be lead astray by the keys, mainly user error. Well, the keys are only as good as they are written. After having said the keys are confusing, the rest of the information provided in the book is quite good and very detailed. I wish there were more color photos to go along with the descriptions. Yes, there are over 800 photos, but most of them are black and white. It is difficult to compare detail of an actual mushroom in the hand with a black and white photo. Overall, I would say this is a good book to have in your collection, but I would not depend on this book for identification.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent book with loads of good info
Comment: This is a very good reference book with tons of information. It is well written and easy to use.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Comment: Anybody who knows anything about mushrooms will most likely have this book! This book tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about mushrooms, including regional lore and legends about the mushrooms. This book is also very good for identifying mushrooms. has something like 300 color pics in which at least one of the mushrooms in those pics will resemble the one you want to identify and point you in the right direction. the keys in the front of each section are also very useful for identification.
it would be nice, however, to have more pictures. i also have Audubon field guide for the pictures and for the small size for a field guide. its a good combo. i look through the pics of the Audubon and read the short description and then i look that up in arora's book for a much more detailed description and to compare with other similar species.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is an advanced text
Comment: I have owned this book for many years; and, through may hunts, it has proven invaluble for classifying mushrooms into their proper categories. However, I would caution buyers to know something about mycology BEFORE they buy this book! This is an area which requires experience!
David Auora is a mycological authority, and this is mostly written to the WEST COAST varietals and people who are familair with the basics.
While the variations from the west coast to the east coast are similar, the differences are what can kill you!
Remember, mushroom hunting and identification can be DEADLY!
This book arms you only with enough information to get you in the ball park unless you are an experienced hunter with many varieties.
Excellent reference, but not for the beginner!
Customer Rating:
Summary: good condition, good shipping time
Comment: Everything went smoothly with this transaction. I bought it used; it seems brand new except for some rather deliberate-looking permanent marker dashes on the unbound sides of the book (on the page tips, whatever that's called). Shipping time was on the fast side of the range of days.
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