"A joy to page through and a highly
recommended addition to personal, academic, and community
library collections, Chasing the Rain is as entertaining
as it is informative."--- James A. Cox, Midwest Book
Review
"photographs that make you gasp with
astonishment and wonder"
---Geoffrey Kibby
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THE RAIN
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This is a book as unique as its author.
Forget identification guides, forget books on the natural
history of mushrooms, forget photographic guides, this
book is all of those and more. There can be few mycologists
as widely travelled as Taylor F. Lockwood, and even fewer
who take beautiful photographs as well and who can write
passionately, engagingly and knowledgeably about their
subject.
In his pre-publication notice the author
says that he has "...dedicated his career to capturing
unique and gorgeous images of mushrooms, and now he's
focussing on educating people about the wonders of these
earthy delights". One glance at this book shows that
he succeeds admirably. There are photographs here that
make you gasp with astonishment and wonder, and look on
in awe at the photographer's skill.
Organised like a literal trek around the
world, the book is arranged by country or continent with
page after page of full colour, perfectly composed photographs.
Many but not all are identified; the author is not afraid
to place a simple 'Unidentified" or 'sp.' beneath
a picture. The object here is not to act as a field guide
but to inspire, amaze and enthral you. The text is very
much a travelogue, mentioning not just the fungi but the
many people he met on the way, the various accidents,
surprises and wildlife he encountered. There is discussion
here of local customs regarding fungi and their uses as
food and medicine, plus photographs of local mycologists.
His travels have taken him from Tibet to
the Amazon, from Russia to South Africa, from the wettest
tropics to the highland plateaus of Asia. He has certainly
suffered for his art. There is a photograph of his face
so swollen that he is hardly able to open his eyes after
being stung by an African wasp, and another of a poisonous
snake that almost ended his career.
Taylor is well known in the U.S.A. for his
lectures, slide shows and educational videos but less
so in Europe; this is the book that will hopefully change
that situation. Buy the book, drool over the amazing fungi
and then pack up your travel kit and get photographing!
Geoffrey Kibby---Field Mycology
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THE RAIN
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A very special blend of travelogue and horticultural
study, Chasing the Rain: My Treasure Hunt for the
World's Most Beautiful Mushrooms by Taylor F. Lockwood
is beautifully illustrated throughout with the author's
simply gorgeous, full-color photography of an astonishing
variety of mushrooms. The text offers fascinating and
informative anecdotes about everything from having to
dodge deadly snakes in China, to warding off swarms of
mosquitoes in Borneo, to outsmarting a band of monkeys
in Bali, to hunting for mushrooms at 14,000 feet in Tibet's
thin air, to the difficulties of finding mushrooms in
drought-stricken Europe. The culmination (to date) of
his passionate appreciation for mushrooms and other fungi,
Chasing the Rain is also an account of the connection
felt by people who, like esthetic mycologist Taylor Lockwood,
hunt the mushrooms of the world. A joy to page through
and a highly recommended addition to personal, academic,
and community library collections, Chasing the Rain
is as entertaining as it is informative.---James A. Cox,
Midwest Book Review
You can preview the
book by clicking the PDF links below:
CHAPTER 1.
Discovery.PDF - 2.2 MB
CHAPTER
17. Tibet.PDF - 2.1 KB
Price: $29.95 --
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THE RAIN
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