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We live on a very moldy planet. Microscopic fungi blossom on every scrap of plant debris and are part of every crumb of soil. Molds can also grow in great profusion in our homes and workplaces, colonizing damp walls and filling the air with their spores. Recently, these indoor molds have acquired a very bad reputation. In a textbook illustration of a media frenzy, black and toxic molds have been spotlighted as an insidious threat to the modern way of life. Stories of homes overrun by fungi have heightened the public’s awareness of indoor molds and the mere sight of a discolored shower curtain can be enough to provoke panic. Among the thousands of mold species, one fungus, Stachybotrys chartarum, has been singled out as a particular menace. This puzzling microbe was first identified on damp wallpaper in Prague in the 19th century, but is now known throughout North America. Stachybotrys produces an alarming range of toxins, but claims that its spores can cause lung damage, disrupt the immune system, and even impair memory have limited support from scientific studies. This book explores the case against Stachybotrys and other indoor molds, offering an objective assessment of the public and scientific perception of these intriguing microbes, their effects upon human health, and their significance in the courtroom.

Stinkhorns, puffballs, the “corpse finder”, deadly galerina, Satan's bolete, birch conks, black mold, the old man of the woods — the world of fungi is infinitely varied and this book introduces readers to a dazzling array of fungi. We learn of Madurella, which can erode bones until they look moth-eaten; Cordyceps, which wracks insects with convulsions, kills them, then sends a stalk out of the insect's head to release more infectious spores; and Claviceps, the poisonous ergot fungus, which causes hallucinations (the women charged with “demonic possession” in Salem in 1691 may have been victims of ergot consumption). The book's author recounts his own childhood introduction to fungi in Mr. Bloomfield's orchard — where trees and fruit were devoured by a rogue's gallery of bitter rot, canker, rust, powdery mildew, rubbery wood and scab — as well as outlining the lives of famed mycologists, including Reginald Buller who wore horse blinders as he walked to work, the better to study luminescent fungi in his dark lab. This book provides an introduction to the biology of fungi as well as insight into how scientists study fungi in the lab and in the field.

This book is concerned with the most devastating fungal diseases in history. These are the plagues of trees and crop plants caused by invisible spores that have reshaped entire landscapes and decimated human populations. Everyone is aware of the Irish potato famine, but while many other fungal diseases are less familiar, they have had similarly disastrous consequences. The book focuses on the fascinating biology of the well- and lesser-known diseases, and tells the stories of the scientists involved in their study and of the people directly impacted by the loss of forest trees like the chestnut, and cash crops such as coffee and cacao. While a book about fungal epidemics is not tailor-made for an intoxicating and uplifting read, the story of the mycologists and plant pathologists engaged in combating these diseases is one of human optimism (often encouraged by desperate eccentricity). In a surprisingly brief time, human knowledge of the fungi that infect plants has evolved from Biblical superstition to the recognition of the true nature of plant disease, and more recently, to a sense of awe for the sophistication of these microbes. The crucial issue of human culpability in these fungal epidemics is addressed in the book’s closing chapter.

Rarely have humans been as threatened by viruses as they are today. It almost seems as if a virus invasion is taking place. Viruses have lately been coming out of nowhere and appearing in the strangest places — exotic viruses about which no one had ever heard before. Many human viruses have started out in the animal world. Are these viruses maybe escaping from their natural hosts? Are human beings simply available as easy prey? Why is all this happening now, and what does it mean for our future? What can we do to defend ourselves? This book addresses viral adaptation as a general phenomenon and examines the implications for public health of human behavior altering viral ecosystems. This book discusses the phenomenon of viral emergence.