Bessette (emeritus, biology, Utica College) and fellow mycologist writers and photographers present a guide to members of the Hygrophoracea family of mushrooms that live in the US and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. Many of the colorful species can be identified in the field by people with no formal training, but a few only by microscope in the laboratory, if at all. They use older taxonomy, for ease rather than ideology, and place most the species they describe in the two genera Hygrocybe and Hygrophorus. The entries include Latin and common names and synonyms; descriptions of the cap, gills, and stalk; microscopic features; occurrence; edibility; notes; and a reference to the relevant page in the section of color photographs. A glossary without pronunciation is provided, along with indexes of common and Latin names. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)