Ian Burrows

This book covers the same subject matter as 'Foraging' by John Lewis-Stempel except this is laid out more like a reference book and contains drawings of each plant so is more useful as an actual guide. However, in sticking to a much more rigid (and therefore repetitive) layout (Lewis-Stempel's book is more anecdotal) it is not a book you can just read enjoyably from cover to cover, but rather a guide you would dip into as needed. I read most of it, but lost faith when I reached the enormous show more fungi section at the back which is nearly as long as the whole rest of the book put together - I only skim-read this section. Seems like a bit of a waste of time to go into fungi this much since no amateur with just a guide book should go picking potentially poisonous items. Burrows also often uses technical terms that I didn't understand. There is a glossary at the back which is almost useless (here we are told that the calyx is the sepals and that the sepals are part of the calyx - wow, so helpful). What really concerns me having read two books about foraging in Britain is that both books contain reams of plants that the other book doesn't mention - so are these edible or not?! And even the ones that both cover contain contradictory information. Unfortunately, if you're really looking to eat from the land, you need a lot more help than a little guide book can offer. show less