Throughout history, people have had a complex and confusing relationship with mushrooms. Are fungi food or medicine, beneficial decomposers or deadly 'toadstools' ready to kill anyone foolhardy enough to eat them? In fact, there is truth in all these statements. In Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares author Greg Marley reveals some of the wonders and mysteries of mushrooms, and our conflicting human reactions to them. This fresh and fascinating look at mushrooms - their natural history, their uses and abuses, their pleasures and dangers - is a splendid introduction to both fungi themselves and to our human fascination with them. From useful descriptions of the most foolproof edible species to revealing stories about hallucinogenic or poisonous - yet often beautiful fungi - Marley's long and passionate experience will inform and inspire readers with the stories of these dark and mysterious denizens of our forest floor. Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares - The Love, Lore and Mystique of Mushrooms won the Jane Grigson Award at the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in 2011.
The Jane Girgson Award is given to a book that exemplifies Jane Grigson's great ability 'to put food in a wider cultural context, using diligent but not pedantic scholarship.' "This book is an enticing invitation into the fungal realm, accessible and a pleasure to read. Author Greg Marley's enthusiasm is infectious, as he encourages an appreciation of fungi as essential ecological partners, and empowers readers wtih practical tools." - Sandor Ellis Katz, Author of Wild Fermentation