When Lucy Kavaler first sent her manuscript to her agent, the receptionist called to say she thought fungi had to be boring, but she read a few pages and was so caught up, she took it home and read it through the night. When the galleys went out to reviewers, Time magazine sent a photographer to Kavaler's house, she went on tour, and the book was a tremendous success. But alas, after many years, the publisher let it go out of print. Despite that, Kavaler kept getting contacted by people discovering it in libraries and a Cornell professor based an entire course on the book. She wanted new readers to think of fungi in a new way. Since the last paperback was falling apart, the Author's Guild was able to get the printer to scan the hard cover.