"He hunts only at the crack of dawn and wears his shirt inside out. To ask why is to ask why fire burns. His credo may be stated thus: he has sworn an oath to keep his mushroom patches secret and to find and to poach on the patches of other hunters. When mushrooms are the prize, the scope of all his aspirations is narrowed to these two goals. Though in all else he may be as Saintly as St. Francis, in the pursuit of these ends he is more Satanic than Satan. He will betray his nearest and dearest without the slightest twitch of flesh or spirit. He is amoral."--Definition of a mushroom hunter by Angelo Pellegrini

This classic field guide answers the amateur mycologist's two most important questions: "What is it?" and "Is it good to eat?" Color photographs illustrate 199 species of mushrooms ranging from boletes to puffballs, chantrelles to truffles. Full descriptions clearly identify the edible or poisonous qualities of each.