Entangled Life
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrakeby Merlin Sheldrake
Shares rank 10 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Readers recommend it as a gentle, fresh introduction to fungi, with the author's narration praised. Critics note the author isn't a research mycologist and call the evidence thin.
Readers recommend it as a gentle, fresh introduction to fungi, with the author's narration praised. Critics note the author isn't a research mycologist and call the evidence thin.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Author not a research mycologist
“is okay as a popular science book, but Sheldrake isn't really a practicing research mycologist”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “How Do Fungi Keep the Planet Healthy?” Thin evidence base, pop-science feel
“it's pop-science bullshit, and it's based on feelgood extrapolation from a thin evidence base”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “Quality non-fiction books are the antithesis of AI slop”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella Meadows | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Entangled Lifeby Merlin SheldrakeThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“is okay as a popular science book, but Sheldrake isn't really a practicing research mycologist”
“it's pop-science bullshit, and it's based on feelgood extrapolation from a thin evidence base”
“I really enjoyed the audiobook version which is narrated by the author.”
“for a gentle introduction Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life is pretty amazing”
“Merlin Sheldrake actually brought some refreshing and unique takes and I walked away actually learning some new things.”
“I can’t recommend it enough.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.