My father was a mycologist by necessity: He had to find food when he was close to starvation in Eastern Galicia during his childhood, and in Siberia during the family exile of 1916. He taught me about the cèpes, chanterelles, and trompettes-de-la-mort when we were hiding from the French police and the Gestapo in the Ardèche in 1941, and around Aiguebelette in 1942. It was then I discovered the shapes, the colors, the taste, and the magic of marvelous and accessible foods. During the short breaks outside the refugee camps in Switzerland, I found myself hoping for rain during the late summer or early fall, and would crawl back to the hidden, secret circles where these delicious mushrooms would sprout, sending their odoriferous messages to be captured only by the initiated.
My next experience with mushrooms was my initiation to the medicinal properties of Psylocybes during my residency as a shrink; we did not jump, fly, or get sick. We just discovered a new world, shared with the curanderas and our schizophrenic patients. But Tomio Toda, the immunologist and Noh Master, was promoting Lentinula edodes, the shiitake mushroom, as an immunostimulant against “our” Corynebacterium parvum. Soon, Lentinan, the stimulant made from shiitake, would be a major drug in Japan.
My attraction to mushrooms was justified, and my quest would take me to the Pacific Rim: Asia and California. Here we are, and I must thank Norman Goldfind, my agent, for helping us with this volume; George de Kay, the publisher, is confident and will help for the success of this book. Peter Weverka provided his time, research, skills, humor, patience, and typing skills: he made this book. I cannot forget my wife and daughters, not because they escaped too often the fate of Sacha Guitry’s own as described in the first pages of his Roman d’un Tricheur, but simply because they still love me despite the long physical and mental absences.
Georges Halpern, M.D., Ph.D.
Portola Valley, California
January, 2002
On a brilliant, sunny Los Angeles morning in the summer of 1987, while on a business trip searching for new products and suppliers for my Chinese herbal products company, I found myself in a small herb shop in Venice Beach. Surrounded by large glass vessels of exotic-looking botanicals and shelves full of packaged tonics treasured for centuries as agents of radiant health, I found myself mesmerized by the oratory of the owner, who went on at length about the life-transforming qualities of a large red mushroom called reishi, known as the mushroom of immortality by the ancient Taoists and spiritual adepts of the Orient.
A spore was planted in my mind that day; it took root and germinated into a fifteen-year journey exploring the benefits, research, cultivation technologies, and art of medicinal mushrooms. It has been a fascinating time for me, and I have met many dedicated and wonderful people along the way. I would like to acknowledge their support and contributions here.
Special thanks goes to Dr. E. J. Wilson, Jr., who has been a loyal, kind, and great business partner for almost two decades and who has pioneered brilliant and novel technologies for preparing medicinal mushrooms for increased bioavailability, potency, and benefit for the consumer.
Thanks to Dr. Randy Dorian of Hanuman Medical and Dr. Moshe Shifrine for their support and collaboration on working toward the advancement of liquid culture medicinal mushroom cultivation. Their art will benefit many, many people as the value of medicinal mushrooms becomes more and more recognized. Thanks to Jordan Rubin for his wealth of knowledge, good cheer, and positive attitude. Of course, Dr. Georges Halpern, friend and colleague, who encouraged me to collaborate with him on this book and to share my experiences and knowledge to help further the cause. Thank you to Peter Weverka, friend and fellow carpooler, who was the glue that cemented the ideas and text of this book. Thanks to all those who helped along the way, and especially to Thomas Hickey, whose sudden passing has taken us by surprise. As president of Tea Garden Products, Inc., he brought a degree of professionalism and ethical conduct to our industry that was admired by many. I will miss his insightful comments and long conversations about medicinal mushrooms and Chinese herbs. Last but not least, to my wife, Martine, and daughters, Louise and Pauline, who have always been my strongest inspiration to be and do the best I can.
Andrew H. Miller
San Francisco, California
June, 2002