Hi guys! So I have been reading this book, "Mushrooms of Northwest North America" and I've got to say it's pretty great. It's not your typical field guide. I've actually had it for a few years, but I didn't give it a chance until a few weeks ago. The reason why was because I skimmed through it, and thought "this won't help me I.D. a mushroom right away". And maybe that's true. If you're looking for a field guide with clear photographs, then you should probably just get an Audubon field guide, or some other quick I.D. Field guide.
The book I'm reviewing does not actually have photographs of mushrooms. Instead, it has very nice illustrations. While they are very nice pieces of art, they are probably not as helpful as an actual photograph. But what this book lacks in that aspect, it more than makes up for in knowledge. It contains a species description section in the second half of the book, which is chalk-full of fun and useful facts for the different groups of mushrooms. It breaks down each class, order, family, genus, and lists several different species for each group. It tells you which genera are usually safe to eat, which ones are dangerous, and which ones are intoxicating. It gives you characteristics of each genera. with this information, you can almost tell if a mushroom is edible or not just from background knowledge.
Basically, this book is a must-have for anyone seriously interested in mycology or mushroom hunting. I've learned a lot on Identification just from reading this book, and I still could learn so much more! Keep in mind, this was written in the early 90's so some information is a little outdated. For example, is lists the class "Hymenomycetes", however this is no longer relevant, and many of the orders have been moved to Agaricomycetes. But it still has a plethora of useful information, and is worth at least a looking into. Well that about wraps up this review, hope it is helpful! Lone Pine, the company that published this book, also has a book on Mushrooms of Northeast North America, which I have not read, though I assume it is also helpful and worth a look.
