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Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Categories: Science & Engineering, Science
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Quite dry
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Publisher's Summary
"Merlin Sheldrake’s marvelous tour of these diverse and extraordinary life forms is eye-opening on why humans should consider fungi among the greatest of earth’s marvels.... Wondrous." (Time)
A mind-bending journey into the hidden universe of fungi, “one of those rare books that can truly change the way you see the world around you” (Helen Macdonald, author of H Is for Hawk).
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Time • New Statesman • London Evening Standard • Science Friday
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 supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake’s vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to 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 our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change 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 changing our understanding of how life works.
Praise for Entangled Life
"Entangled Life is a gorgeous book of literary nature writing in the tradition of [Robert] Macfarlane and John Fowles, ripe with insight and erudition.... Food for the soul." (Eugenia Bone, Wall Street Journal)
"[An] ebullient and ambitious exploration... This book may not be a psychedelic - and unlike Sheldrake, I haven’t dared to consume my copy (yet) - but reading it left me not just moved but altered, eager to disseminate its message of what fungi can do." (Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times)
What the critics say
"Fungi are fascinating! Elegant life strategies meet with delicate omnipresence, driving global ecosystems. Sheldrake's book informs and offers new concepts. Looking through Sheldrake's lens, fungal biology integrates with art, philosophy, and human society. His voice is real and personal. His book educates and entertains." (Uta Paszkowski, professor of plant molecular genetics, University of Cambridge)
What listeners say about Entangled Life
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rachel Ridley
- 2020-11-16
Great listen
I really enjoyed this listen because of the interesting scientific facts but the stories that went along with them were stimulating and easy to follow. Also the writer's voice is really relaxing. I listened to this while painting a collection of mushrooms, definitely got me in the zone :)
1 person found this helpful
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- Chris
- 2021-02-19
Incredible
One of the most fascinating reads/listens ever. Truly a book that can/will change the way you see the world.
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- Zac
- 2020-12-13
Very cool
Mention of Deleuze plus psychedelics. Very cool! I recommend people watch Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia for more on drug related information.
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- Ty Schultz
- 2020-11-18
Wonderful
An absolutely fabulous dance through the fibres of life that leaves a trail of wonder,a moment of enlightenment and a fascination with the largely unseen.
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- 2beeabee
- 2020-10-29
Just Fantastic!
Merlin Sheldrake is fantastic in his capacity to educate, entertain and engage. Well done Merlin!
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- Genevieve
- 2020-10-14
Needs 1.3x
The facts and toughts are very interesting but left me bamboozled. They needed to be better organised as everything seemed redundant and disheveled. I would have love to love this book.
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- Mr Robot
- 2020-10-08
Fungi established ecosystems but nobody knows
Sheldrake is brilliant and passionate about fungi and it conveys beautifully in this book. I began getting interested in fungi from other podcasts but this book really opened my eyes to just how pivotal fungi were, and still are, in the health of our soils, waterways, and entire ecosystems. For such an enormous kingdom of life to historically be denounced or ignored is a travesty, given the data we have that overwhelmingly points to fungi having the role of establishing ecosystems, when plantlife was only just establishing on land, and building subterranean networks of mycelium that links plants, delivers nutrients, and ultimately encourages the forward evolution of other species. We owe immense gratitude to this misunderstood kingdom, and if you are a junior looking for a major in college, please look in to mycology. I'm certainly doing so myself!
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- Tracy
- 2020-10-04
fantastic
Highly recommended reading or listening. I will likely buy the book as well. Very well done on all fronts.
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- Alex
- 2020-09-28
Awesome And Calming
Great book for those looking to satisfy their mycological fix. The author does a great job of reading his work, its informing and meditative.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-08-12
Breathtaking Story and Narration
I can barely put it down, the information is inspiring and incredible. The author narrates and has a beautiful voice and pacing, I can't wait to listen again and will purchase a physical copy to share with friends and family!
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- JacksonTimothyHemingway
- 2020-05-12
Mycology for Everyone
Call me a biased Mycophile, but this was such a great book.
I preordered it, and downloaded as soon as it was available.
The pictures Merlin paints with his words are fantastic, not to mention his wonderfully soft voice that makes for easy listening. (Maybe don’t listen at night while driving, could be mistake for a lullaby).
A perfect book for the times of isolation and quarantine as it fills our minds with the childlike excitement of discovery in our neighboring woods.
18 people found this helpful
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- Elan Sun Star
- 2020-06-20
Brilliant and insightful! plant wisdom and science
What an incredible book /audiobook. I have read 40 books on this subject but this is quite the best.. and very accessible.
From a family of plant wise elders (Rupert Sheldrake) and a very worthy leader in the field. With a fantastic narration voice and the insights from a lifetime of observation fosters by his Dad , Rupert Sheldrake , this book incorporates many of the essential wisdom needed to solve some of the most challenging issues of our time.
it is an amazing and rich compilation of philosophy and biocentrism and biophilia
I highly suggest this book
10 people found this helpful
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- Stacy Martin
- 2020-06-18
So good that I went and bought the book too!
First, Mr Sheldrake has a lovely, mesmerizing voice and pleasant cadence to his reading. The content is very rich and detailed, so several times I re-listened to parts just to retain as much as I could. It’s a great mix of natural history, scientific discovery, human culture and Sheldrake’s musings on how it’s all interwoven and dependent on mycelium-but yet still mysterious and emanating wonder. Didn’t want it to end!
9 people found this helpful
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- Gerald Albertson
- 2020-06-27
Unusually marvelous
One of the most fascinating books I have ever listened to. Sheldrake voice is made for audio books. His voice is soothing and captivating. And the subject of fungi has so much depth we doubtless will be part of its story as technology begins to unlock wonderful secrets from a life form we know so little about. In my top 10 of all time.
5 people found this helpful
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- C Jewell
- 2020-07-24
Incredible
This is one you'll listen to over and over again. Then you will try endlessly to figure out how to get Merlin's beautiful voice to narrate your dreams.
4 people found this helpful
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- Karinka
- 2020-07-06
Fascinating insight into a hidden world
I am an educated medical professional who had no idea that the mycelial internet existed until a couple of years ago when I saw a popular film about the life of mushrooms. This wonderful book blows open one’s doors of perception with an amazing depth and breadth of information I never knew that I needed to know. Wow! Great book, highly recommend for the scientifically curious and lovers of the earth.
3 people found this helpful
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- Ran Away
- 2020-06-18
Beautiful and Informative
Wonderfully written and read! You’ll learn about fungi, be confronted with ambiguities and complex relationships, while enjoying poetic metaphors that bring the ideas to life and closer to home
3 people found this helpful
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- Kyle Wilson
- 2020-10-19
Fascinating!
Absolutely loved this book. What a cool perspective on the world we live in. If you’re even remotely interested in plants, trees, mushrooms, or any aspect of the systems and structures that make up planet earth, you will love this book.
2 people found this helpful
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- Arik
- 2020-08-06
Joy to listen to
Extremely poetic take on topics that are cutting edge mycology. The mood balances the fine line of real truths and the mysticism associated with fungi in general.
2 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 2020-07-08
Intriguing book, poor narration by author
A fascinating book about fungi. The author constantly finds way to shift your anthropocentric perspective. Unfortunately the author, Merlin Sheldrake, is not a professional reader and has a monotone voice that detracts from the experience rather than, as a good narrator does, adds to it. I still recommend the book, as it is so unusual and informative.
2 people found this helpful