In the tradition of Michael Pollan’s The
Omnivore’s Dilemma, Susan Orlean’s The Orchid
Thief, and Mark Kurlansky’s Cod—a renowned
culinary adventurer goes into the woods with the
iconoclasts and outlaws who seek the world’s most
coveted ingredient . . . and one of nature’s last truly
wild foods: the uncultivated, uncontrollable
mushroom. Within the dark corners of America’s
forests grow culinary treasures. Chefs pay top dollar to
showcase these elusive and beguiling ingredients on
their menus. Whether dressing up a filet mignon with
smoky morels or shaving luxurious white truffles over
pasta, the most elegant restaurants across the country
now feature an abundance of wild
mushrooms. The mushroom hunters, by
contrast, are a rough lot. They live in the wilderness
and move with the seasons. Motivated by Gold Rush
desires, they haul improbable quantities of fungi from
the woods for cash. Langdon Cook embeds himself in this
shadowy subculture, reporting from both rural fringes
and big-city eateries with the flair of a novelist,
uncovering along the way what might be the last gasp of
frontier-style capitalism. Meet Doug, an
ex-logger and crabber—now an itinerant mushroom picker
trying to pay his bills and stay out of trouble; and
Jeremy, a former cook turned wild food entrepreneur,
crisscrossing the continent to build a business amid
cutthroat competition; their friend Matt, an
up-and-coming chef whose kitchen alchemy is turning
heads; and the woman who inspires them
all. Rich with the science and lore of
edible fungi—from seductive chanterelles to exotic
porcini—The Mushroom Hunters is equal parts gonzo
travelogue and culinary history lesson, a rollicking,
character-driven tour through a world that is by turns
secretive, dangerous, and tragically
American. Praise for The Mushroom
Hunters “A rollicking narrative . .
. Cook [delivers] vivid and cinematic scenes on every
page.”—The Wall Street Journal “Like
Susan Orlean in The Orchid Thief, Seattle author
[Langdon] Cook shines a light on a shady subculture
operating at the seam between wilderness and commerce.
Like author Michael Pollan, he knows that every bite of
food these days has a complex, often unsavory backstory.
Like the late Hunter Thompson, he not only goes along
for the ride with the shifty characters he’s writing
about, but drives the getaway car. After reading The
Mushroom Hunters, you’ll never look at a portobello
the same way. . . . [A] beguiling, surprising
book.”—The Seattle
Times “Not simply
about mushrooms, this book examines human behavior,
economics, food, society, and nature. In the end,
readers will have learned a great deal about U.S.
economic and social structures—all while being
entertained and enlightened by stories of gastronomy and
mushrooms. Highly recommended.”—Library
Journal “Intrepid and
inspired.”—Publishers
Weekly “Uncultivated
mushrooms are one of our last truly wild foods; it often
takes truly wild and rough mushroom hunters to bring
them to our table. Cook travels and hunts with them in a
riveting, crazy undertaking, told in often-poetic
prose.”—Shelf
Awareness “Cook’s
sketches of these unique and idiosyncratic characters
aren’t always wholly sympathetic, but he makes every one
of them real.”—Booklist
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