Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine [Hardcover]

Harriet Beinfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 1991

Two of the foremost American educators and healers in the Chinese medical profession demystify Chinese medicine's centuries-odl approach to health. Combining Eastern traditions with Western sensibilities in a unique blend that is relevant today, BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH opens the door to a vast storehouse of knowledge that bridges the gap between mind and body, theory and practice, professional and self-care, East and West.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For anyone seriously interested in learning about Chinese medicine, Beinfield and Korngold provide a comprehensive, though technical, look at it. The book is divided into three parts: theory; the psychology of Chinese medicine and therapy; and such treatment methods as acupuncture, herbs and diet. Licensed acupunturists, Beinfield and Korngold stress that the models of Eastern and Western medicine are significantly different. Consequently, so are methods, emphases and outcomes. Chinese medicine, they claim, readjusts the body's balance and enhances self-healing--while Western medicine, in contrast, stresses suppressing and eliminating pathological phenomena, and crisis-intervention. The authors don't discount the need, in some instances, for Western medicine. In fact, they bring this issue up poignantly with an event close to home: their son was born with a heart deformity that required specialized surgery. To help maintain his health, his parents incorporated herbal remedies in his diet. A particularly interesting concept is "culinary alchemy" or kitchen medicine, based on the Chinese tenet "Who we are determines what is most beneficial for us to eat." The authors provide an extensive, cross-referenced compendium of herb names, as well as information on using Chinese patent medicines and formulas for general health problems.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Chinese medicine uses a variety of diagnostic techniques, such as observation, pulse-taking, and questioning, to determine a patient's type and optimal therapy. Here, two Western practitioners describe for Western lay readers philosophy, diagnostic techniques, and possible treatments. They also show how an understanding of the five Chinese elements--wood, fire, earth, metal, and water--enables one to begin to understand one's own patterns of physical and emotional health. Beinfeld and Korngold have done a handy job of explaining this esoteric and frequently misunderstood modality. For New Age health collections in public libraries.
- Judith Eannarino, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (June 4, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345359437
• ISBN-13: 978-0345359438
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Clear Presentation, May 5, 2000

By 

Rocannon MacGregor "zenfire" (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

This is the most involved and lucid explanation of the Five Phases that I have found. I refer many of my patients to this book when they come for their initial session. It has numerous drawings, charts and graphs to support the written text. The Five Phase Theory, as presented in this book, can assist practicing acupunturists or students of Oriental Medicine in deepening their understanding of how to successfully handle the myriad problems and dis-eases presented by their patients. In my 25 years of practice I found extremely few books so well written and organized for everyday use and review.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for this seminal book on acupuncture, January 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

What a great book...If I had to be marooned on a desert island, etc., etc., with just one book on acupuncture, helpful for understanding the human condition, this would be the book, and there isn't even a close second that comes to mind. The authors were **the** people who brought an understanding of Chinese medicine to the U.S. in the 1970s, and this book is a heroic attempt to educate us and interest us at the same time with what they had found. It's hard to tell whether they're classic five element practitioners (I've heard differing points of view on this) but they do a FABULOUS job on breaking down what's involved with that unique, and very hard to find out about, form of acupuncture. Although practitioners will say that they can only figure out your type from actually diagnosing you in person, I found that when I put my husband and me through the written "tests" in the book, very comprehensive, we actually came out ahead: and figured out "what" we were, 1.5 years ahead of the acupuncturist so doing. That gave me even more confidence in the book. Not to mention, reading and thinking about what the test revealed about us HUGELY promoted our understanding of ourselves and each other, and made for a fun adjunct to a vacation weekend. This is a great book, and I find myself referring to it again and again, though I've also read--and own--many of the other now classic books in the field. Simple enough for a lay reader, but definitely able to communicate the elegance of the practice. Go authors! :-)

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Informed consumer, May 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

This book has been a valuable resource to me as a person seeking healing through various alternative medicines. While I found Chinese Medicine helpful I didn't understand why, and I now feel as though I can take an active roll in discussions with my provider about various treatments. I do not have a long attention span when it comes to dry manuals, but this book was written to be understood and will hold your interest. The only part of the book I found lacking was the index. As I tried to put together a 'treatment plan' for myself, I had difficulty finding specific topics/herbs again.