What a Mushroom Lives For: Matsutake and the Worlds They Make

The book "What a Mushroom Lives For" explores how the matsutake mushroom is remaking human communities in China and providing new ways to understand human and more-than-human worlds. It reveals the complex, symbiotic ways that mushrooms, plants, humans, and other animals interact, and how the world looks to the mushrooms and the people who have grown rich harvesting them.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 07 November 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

The prized matsutake mushroom is transforming human communities in China, offering fresh perspectives on human and more-than-human worlds. Michael Hathaway's book, "What a Mushroom Lives For," takes the mushroom renaissance to exciting new heights. For centuries, Western science has centered on a human- and animal-centric understanding of action, agency, movement, and behavior. However, Hathaway's work challenges this orthodoxy by showcasing the remarkable world-making abilities of mushrooms.

The book delves into the captivating story of the matsutake, a highly prized species that thrives in the wild on the Tibetan plateau. It explores the astonishing ways in which this mushroom shapes worlds, from its growth in the wilderness to its final destination in Japan, where it is a delicacy that drives a multi-billion-dollar global trade network.

Many Tibetan and Yi people dedicate their lives to picking and selling matsutake, a delicacy that has become a source of wealth and livelihood. However, this is not a straightforward tale of human exploitation. The book reveals the intricate, symbiotic relationships that exist between mushrooms, plants, humans, and other animals. It explores how the world appears to mushrooms, as well as to the people who have grown rich harvesting them.

"What a Mushroom Lives For" is a surprising and provocative journey into science and human culture. It showcases how fungi shape our planet and our lives in unexpected, diverse, and often unimaginable ways. The book encourages readers to reevaluate their perceptions of nature and the roles that different forms of life play in shaping our world. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the wonders of fungi and the interconnectedness of all life.

Dimension: 203 x 133 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691225906