A pleasing assembly of the puzzle of the world with fungi as a key piece.
A seasoned British mycophile presents a feast of fungi, benign and malign.
No less scientific for its whimsicality, Whiteley’s charming, informative survey of fungus reveals many little-known facts about a vast array of species, stressing that life as we know it would not be possible without the roles played by these unique organisms. Neither plant nor animal, but a life-form all its own, fungi can thrive anywhere on the planet, even in outer space. The largest single organism on Earth, notes the author, is a continuous specimen of fungus in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest measuring 9,650,000 square meters. An able guide, Whiteley takes us on a brief tour of taxonomy (the science of naming and categorizing species) and a more detailed study of osmotrophy (the process by which fungi digest animal and plant material). She also contrasts fungi with lichen, the latter being composite organisms that include algae or bacteria alongside fungi, living mutually. Celebrating the edible mushroom’s culinary versatility, Whiteley offers an occasional recipe, though no tips on foraging; the universe of mushrooms (fungi’s fruiting body) is much too complex (and potentially perilous) to make decisions without expert knowledge. That said, humans have been consuming them for more than 19,000 years and employing their medicinal properties for at least 5,000. Certain microfungi may hold the key to devouring large amounts of the plastics now consigned to landfills and oceans as well as lead to new biofuels and other chemical/biological applications. As to the more inimical (to humans) varieties, Whiteley surveys horror tales and films about fungi run amok, but she forgets the hijacking spores of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The author closes with a glossary, Dramatis Fungi, ranging from the familiar and tasty Agaricus bisporus, or “Common Mushroom (Button, Chestnut, Portobello, Swiss Brown, Italian Brown),” to the lethal Amanita phalloides, or “Death Cap.”
A pleasing assembly of the puzzle of the world with fungi as a key piece.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64313-785-8
Page Count: 204
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.
A popular novelist turns his hand to historical writing, focusing on what shipwrecks can tell us.
There’s something inherently romantic about shipwrecks: the mystery, the drama of disaster, the prospect of lost treasure. Gibbins, who’s found acclaim as an author of historical fiction, has long been fascinated with them, and his expertise in both archaeology and diving provides a tone of solid authority to his latest book. The author has personally dived on more than half the wrecks discussed in the book; for the other cases, he draws on historical records and accounts. “Wrecks offer special access to history at all…levels,” he writes. “Unlike many archaeological sites, a wreck represents a single event in which most of the objects were in use at that time and can often be closely dated. What might seem hazy in other evidence can be sharply defined, pointing the way to fresh insights.” Gibbins covers a wide variety of cases, including wrecks dating from classical times; a ship torpedoed during World War II; a Viking longship; a ship of Arab origin that foundered in Indonesian waters in the ninth century; the Mary Rose, the flagship of the navy of Henry VIII; and an Arctic exploring vessel, the Terror (for more on that ship, read Paul Watson’s Ice Ghost). Underwater excavation often produces valuable artifacts, but Gibbins is equally interested in the material that reveals the society of the time. He does an excellent job of placing each wreck within a broader context, as well as examining the human elements of the story. The result is a book that will appeal to readers with an interest in maritime history and who would enjoy a different, and enlightening, perspective.
Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781250325372
Page Count: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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