The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

The book is very well structured and divided into twenty chapters dealing with several stories, issues and the history of the matsutake. For ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World’ she undertook fieldwork in Japan, China, the USA and in Finland.

Tsing is an anthropologist who has worked at universities in Denmark and the USA. This, amongst others, raises the controversial question as to whether human disturbance and destruction of nature may actually be crucial to the formation of new landscapes and thus sheds new light on the question of human’s place in nature. Conducting fieldwork in different matsutake forests around the world, she compares the dyanmics in matsutake supply chains and demonstrates that the mushroom only grows in places in nature that humans have disturbed, exploited and abandoned. Tsing uses metaphoric language to pick up on the intricate topic of capitalism and its consequences for a global network. The latter was another reason why this book awakened my interest. Growing up with an Indian father, whose spirituality and beliefs were embedded in colourful pictures of gods, goddesses and picturesque tales, most of my childhood I understood and was taught about the world in a very visual way. Furthermore, I was intrigued by the author making use of a mushroom to explore capitalism. My general aversion towards capitalism was what drew my attention to Tsing’s ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World’. It was fascinating to me how Anthropology can be incorporated in the dynamics of global trade and economics, underlining Anthropology’s importance for our modern world. Before studying Anthropology, my interest and knowledge on global economics and politics were limited. It was because of Tsing’s book I read in my second year of Anthropology that I was drawn into the topic of capitalism. Jana-Sharmila Sen Jana’s bio: I’m a third year Anthropology student from Germany. This week, our featured review of the book is by Jana-Sharmila Sen. Additional ISBNs for this eTextbook include 0691162751, 0691178321, 0691220557, 9780691162751, 9780691178325, 9780691220550.As part of our first year Introduction to Social & Cultural Anthropology module, students complete a reading seminar where they have to read and review a significant anthropological monograph – Anna Tsing’s “The Mushroom at the End of the World”. Save up to 80% versus print by going digital with VitalSource. The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins is written by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing and published by Princeton University Press.

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing