When I was a kid I enjoyed hunting and fishing with my dad. To a point. That point was the actual killing and cleaning of the animals. We were pheasant hunters mostly, and if you've ever seen a pheasant up close you know that they are beautiful, as colorful as peacocks but as color-coordinated and classy as peacocks are messy and gaudy. And if you've ever had to remove a live, flapping one from your dog's mouth (at, say, age 12) and kill it by wringing its neck, and later skin and gut it, you know the unpleasant part I'm talking about. I think it's good to know and participate intimately in where your meat comes from, but that doesn't mean it's not difficult.
Foraging for things like mushrooms, on the other hand... what's not to like? You get all the fun, out-in-the-woods, hunter/gatherer-primal-fulfillment stuff with none of the blood and guts. And if you're successful you come home with incredibly tasty food that you often literally can't buy in any store. And unlike hunting and fishing, there's no special licenses or gear required; it's pretty much free of charge.
Anyway, I spent a lot of hours in the woods last year hunting for mushrooms so I figured I'd expand my quarry to other edibles while I'm at it. To that end, I just got these two books in the mail, and I can't wait to start studying them!