What are fungi up to?

Merlin Sheldrake, a biologist, follows fungi through the underground networks that link trees, the lichens that fuse fungus and alga and the yeasts in bread and beer, arguing that fungi upend ideas about individual organisms.

Keith Seifert, a mycologist, introduces the microscopic fungi that break down wood, spoil food, live in our homes and bodies and turn insects into zombies, as well as those that give us bread, cheese and medicine.

Aliya Whiteley, a novelist with a lifelong fascination with fungi, writes short, offbeat chapters on fungal oddities, from plastic-eating molds to mushrooms in literature and the kitchen.

Nicholas Money, a mycologist, gives a concise account of fungal biology, from how fungi grow, reproduce and evolve to their roles in ecosystems, farming, disease and industry.

Paul Stamets, a mushroom grower, gives instructions for cultivating fungi and argues that they can filter water, clean contaminated soil and restore forests. Some of his larger claims run ahead of the published evidence.