National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

This guide has color photographs and an apt descriptions as to where and what a certain mushroom grows upon. Whether they are edible or not. I found this guide to be indispensable and keep it with me for accurate identification.

This guide is compact enough as to be with you on all hiking treks. It is worth the money as a very valuable tool for spore print color. Sometimes the only way to tell the difference between spieces.

Excellent and well worth reading. The best guide I found, but I own four others for cross reference. Before you harvest mushrooms from the wild you must be certain that what you harvest is what you've got.

Don't leave home without it. Be prepared...


good photographs but it could be better   August 16, 1999
36 out of 41 found this review helpful

Comparing many books on mushrooms I am still looking for a great combination of features. 1) must be portable and not the size of a large size volume; 2) color photographs, possibly full page, in a natural setting, possibly at natural size; 3) text adjacent to photograph; 4) warnings on look-alike mushrooms when looking at one mushroom specifically; 5) usage of scientific names as primary references instead of common names. While this field guide excells in many of the above, each page has three color photograps, thus often the mushroom displayed is 20% the size of the actual real mushroom. Also, the text pages are separate from the photograph pages due to different type of paper used (text is on white paper), so while the picture may be on page 200, the text is on page 400. Another disappointment was the prevalent usage of common names instead of scientific names, which can be a turn-off for readers who are not from North America and couldn't care less of the local mushroom naming.


The best North American field guide   November 16, 2000
RV full-timer (USA)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

This is a fine field guide, overall. It's not designed for total beginners -- those folks should get some experienced assistance before trying to identify mushrooms with this book alone. But once you know the basics, this guide can be your first reference, and the only one you carry in your pack.

Of the five field guides I have owned, this is by far the best for North American mushrooms. Still, no guide is 100% complete, so having some alternative guides to refer to is a good idea. Also, while it is described as "leather bound," my copy and all others I have seen actually are bound in vinyl with a leather-like texture stamped on it. Don't be fooled into thinking you are getting a real leather-bound book. Of course, vinyl is more practical for field use anyway, where you are likely to get the book wet!


Get Mushrooms Demystified   August 7, 2002
26 out of 28 found this review helpful

Most people buy this book simply because it is an Audubon Society book. (I made this mistake) It seems the author left out important information in an attempt to keep the book field guide sized. By including a few species from every part of the country, the author made this book of little use to anyone who lives in one place. On the other hand, it does have a lot of pictures... Even if they are small, hopelessly jumbled, and labeled with made-up names. (seriously) This book is for people that have some spare money and want to expand their library. I would highly recommend a couple of other books instead: Mushrooms Demystified (The comprehensive text for beginners and experts alike), and All the Rain Promises and More (The field guide).


Good supplemental book   December 10, 2004
George J. Dagis (Saugerties NY)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful

I own about a dozen mushroom books and have recently added this one to my collection. "Shooming" can be a dangerous pursuit and, like almost all are aware, absolute identification is required. I don't think I would personally feel competent with this book alone, nor any other for that matter. I feel there are better books but these are very heavy monstrosities. This one, like a few, can be carried into the field while the larger, more definitive guides await at home, or in the car. The pictures are good but I prefer a "Peterson Guide" type approach to indicate what, exactly, I should be looking for. My only other personal objection is that I prefer a guide that uses their Latin name since this knowledge will be more easily transferable from one book to another.

In sum: It's a fine addition to a collection of other books on the subject. It's a decent field guide for someone who has a bit of knowledge on the subject beforehand.