I found this guide to be very well done. I had not gotten to reviewing this earlier because I found the process for me to get my early reviewer copy from this publisher to be confusing and unnecessary (it wasn't a regular ebook download) so that played a huge role in not getting to this on time. I do not live in the Pacific Northwest so I cannot speak to applying this knowledge in the wild, however I am a big fan of mushrooms. There are colored photos included, but they are not fullsize, which isn't a problem if you get the ebook. A downside of the ebook however is that there are log pages that I won't be using on my phone. Recipes are included too, which is a nice addition. Overall, decent for ebook if you don't mind missing out on the last chunk of the book, and decent for physical if you don't mind pictures that can be smaller than half the page. ( )

Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest Foraging Guide by Stephen Fleming is a great starter handbook for people interested in mushroom foraging. Fleming’s first chapter provides the reader with concise and easy to understand background information on mushrooms and fungi. He also describes some of the philosophies of foraging in this introductory section. The book has a large section on various edible and inedible mushrooms found in the Northwest and some basic identifying features. While the description and image would be good enough for a seasoned mushroom forager to be confident with a correct identification, they are not good enough for a novice. The book provides a good foundation, but I would strongly recommend that a novice mushroom forager connect with a local group or experienced individual to ensure correct identification prior to eating. That said, the book is a lovely resource that can be used while hiking when you find a mushroom you’d like to try to identify! My favourite sections of the book were the recipes near the end, there were several good ones to try, and the calendar of when you might be able to find various mushrooms when out foraging. This book is a great resource to have nearby if you are interested in mushrooms and foraging! ( )

Elementary in a good way, this guide is appropriate for supervised children and passionate chefs with access to a thriving forest.

This book teaches well, but it leaves me with a few nitpicks. The images in chapter 3 seem more glam-shots, and there are too few of them. I would like to see mushrooms in various stages of growth and concealment. This goes triple for anything poisonous, where I would want to see diagnostic images. I feel it may be irresponsible to make a mushroom foraging guide that does not include psychedelics. If that's what your looking for give this book a hard pass because it has none. Nor is it comprehensive, so you cannot guess a mushroom is psychedelic by process of elimination. You may run into something poisonous.

But this sets out to be a good rated-G guide, and it is. I can't help but believe there are better mushroom foraging guides out there, but this one does teach well. ( )