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The Mushroom at the End of the World

On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

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The Mushroom at the End of the World

By: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
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About this listen

Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world - and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere. Through its ability to nurture trees, matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places. It is also an edible delicacy in Japan, where it sometimes commands astronomical prices. In all its contradictions, matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made?

A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction.

©2015 Princeton University Press (P)2017 Tantor Anthropology Economics Environmental Economics China Capitalism Imperial Japan Commerce Socialism
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This key anthropological text is a compelling and interesting read for any person interested in capitalism, culture, and ecology (and a few things more). But this narrator struggles with Japanese pronunciation and often puts stress/intonation on the wrong words in sentences rendering this audiobook unlistenable to my ears as a Japanese speaker. It’s a shame.

Great book ruined by the narrator

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An incredible intellect, the story telling and insights brought to the fore by Lowenhaupt Tsing via something so simple as a mushroom is engaging and eye opening. But, so unfortunately, the narrator was an extremely poor choice for this book. Almost all Japanese words, including the name of the titular mushroom, are incorrectly pronounced, and the uneven pace or tone at times makes it hard to follow in combination with non-English vocab. Do yourself a favour and buy the hard copy, instead.

Excellent writing, awful narration

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Great book, terrible narrator. Emphasises words very oddly, like a robot. Made it very hard to follow

bad narration, good book

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“Mushroom at the End of the World” is earnest deep dive into different life-ways that exist in our disturbed world (economically, naturally, culturally) of today.

I starting listening to this audiobook during 2020 amid peak lockdown in Melbourne Australia. I found out about the title from a talk between two writers and they discussed it in the context of how to do anything (let alone make art) in what feels like a collapsing world. 2 years later and I have only just finished the title. Not for lack of interest or love, but from slow learning and meandering (something the spirit of the book encourages.)

I recommend the book to anyone and everyone who feels lost in the world today.

High Key Life Changing

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