The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus

The Truffle Underground takes readers through the fascinating underworld of the truffle industry. Beneath the glossy veneer of star chefs and crystal-laden tables, a hidden world of intrigue, sabotage, and crime undergirds the elegance of truffles- Feuding factions plant poisoned meatballs in competitors' fields to eliminate rival truffle-hunting dogs. Crime syndicates steal research from the labs of scientists attempting to cultivate them, and unsuspecting foragers are held at gunpoint while bandits lift an entire month's worth of income from their car trunks. The Truffle Underground has all of the makings of the next compulsively readable food expose, a deeply researched dive into the dark origins of the world's most valuable fungus--from the scientific mysteries of their growth to the story of the hapless French farmer who discovered the secret to cultivating them to brutal crimes in the forests and the white-collar crimes that surround this secretive industry. Through it all, a question lingers- What, other than money, draws people to these dirt-covered knobs?

About the Author :
RYAN JACOBS is an investigative reporter and senior editor at Pacific Standard. He has previously held positions at Mother Jones, Sierra, and The Atlantic. While at The Atlantic, Jacobs's article profiling the truffle underworld went viral and became one of the most-viewed articles of 2014.

Review :
“Jacobs is an unstoppable and captivating guide through the dark underbelly of the world’s most glamorous fungus. This is the ultimate truffle true crime tale.”—Bianca Bosker, New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork “The thrilling new book The Truffle Underground has all the dirt on this prized fungus.”—Mother Jones  “The Truffle Underground is as much about human nature as it is about a little-known corner of the food industry. In the guise of a crisply written and engaging story about a rare, astronomically priced delicacy, Jacobs has produced a contemporary morality tale about capitalism and consumerism.”—Los Angeles Review of Books “The Orchid Thief of truffles.”—BookRiot  “This well-researched, well-written book is a thoroughly enjoyable read.”—New York Journal of Books “The Truffle Underground is an eye-opening book, one that will make you rethink not only your meals and the people providing them, but also the hidden economies undergirding so many of our modern habits.”—Crime Reads “I love this book so much.”—Jess Lahey, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure “[A] riveting debut . . . Ryan Jacobs weaves the fascinating scientific and historical backstory of the elusive culinary delicacy known as truffles with the stealthy feel of a diamond heist or spy operation. . . . The Truffle Underground is an eye-opening tale.”—Bookpage "[A] fascinating work . . . This deeply researched and eye-opening account of the lengths people will go for wealth, gratification, and a taste of the prized fungus will captivate readers."—Publishers Weekly  “A full-fledged mystery and exposé about a luxurious delicacy that comes at a far higher price than you ever imagined.”—Fortune “The Truffle Underground is a smart, revealing exposé into how that expensive piece of fungus made it to your plate, and the extreme lengths scammers go to farm and steal them. True-crime nerds, this is the unsuspecting story you’ve been waiting for.”—Thrillist “[A] really fantastic, deeply reported, can't-put-it-down new book. Extraordinary.”—Howie Kahn, Prince Street Podcast  “A fascinating read.”—Destination Eat Drink Podcast  “Fans of weird true crime will eat it up.”—BuzzFeed