Blended Medicine: The Best Choices in Healing [Hardcover]

Michael Castleman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0875965202 | ISBN-13: 978-0875965208 | Publication Date: February 12, 2000 | Edition: 1st

This work profiles 21 mainstream and alternative therapies, including naturopathy, yoga, and biofeedback. Each method is explained and reasons for its use and level of success, are given. An "A to Z" reference of 106 health conditions, with the most effective complimentary remedies, is included.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Castleman, a medical journalist and the author of nine previous books, here offers an integrative approach to healing. He describes over 20 therapeutic traditions and then outlines the most effective Western and alternative treatments for over 100 common health conditions. Although he is careful to encourage consultation with professionals, his emphasis throughout is on self-cure. Yet many of the therapies described demand extensive training and practice, if not precision. For example, he often recommends acupressure, but his description of pressure points is cursory, with no accompanying illustrations. Castleman also allots major diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and hepatitis little more space and coverage than minor conditions such as heartburn and jet lag. Overall, he is striving to do too much in one book, and although the concept of integrating traditional and alternative therapies is an important one, the complexity of such a task--at least for the layperson--is far beyond the scope of one self-help manual. Not recommended.
-Andy Wickens, Univ. of Washington Health Sciences Lib., Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Comprehensive, clear, and eminently helpful."--James Gordon, M.D., director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and author of Manifesto for a New Medicine

"The most practical, comprehensive guide for living longer and healthier in the 21st century!"--Dr. Earl Mindell, author of Prescription Alternatives

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1st edition (February 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875965202
• ISBN-13: 978-0875965208
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,403,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Castleman is a journalist and novelist, author of more than 2,000 newspaper, magazine, and Web articles, 12 consumer health books, and three mystery novels.

He is "one of the nation's leading health writers" (Library Journal). For 35 years, he has been a prolific freelance medical journalist focused on optimal health, mainstream medicine, alternative therapies, nutrition, fitness, and sexuality. His nonfiction books have a combined total of more than 2.25 million copies in print. His comprehensive guide to herbal medicine, The Healing Herbs, recently expanded and updated as The New Healing Herbs, 3rd Edition (Rodale, 2009), has sold more than 1 million copies.

Three of Castleman's books have been Book of the Month Club Selections: The Healing Herbs; Blended Medicine (Rodale, 2000), a home medical guide that combines mainstream and alternative therapies; and Nature's Cures (Rodale, 1996), a scientific investigation of 33 alternative healing arts, everything from acupuncture to yoga. Two have won "Health Book of the Year" awards from the American Library Association: Blended Medicine and Nature's Cures. One was in print for 28 years, Sexual Solutions. Foreign-rights sales have included: the British Commonwealth, Germany, France, Latin America, Spain, Finland, and China.

Castleman has also written widely for magazines, among them: Smithsonian, Reader's Digest, Prevention, Family Circle, Redbook, Self, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, New Woman, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Men's Journal, Psychology Today, Playboy, Parenting, Child, Natural Health, Natural Solutions, Mother Jones, and Salon.com, among others. Twice he has been nominated for National Magazine Awards--in 1997, for "Harm With Every Puff: How Smoking Hurts," in Mother Jones, and in 1996, for "The Real Truth About Breast Cancer," in San Francisco Focus.

His newspaper articles have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, San Francisco Examiner, and San Jose Mercury-News, among others.

Castleman's R-rated mystery series is set in San Francisco, and features newspaperman-sleuth Ed Rosenberg. Titles include: The Lost Gold of San Francisco (2003, movie option) Death Caps (2007) and A Killing in Real Estate (2010).

Castleman earned an M.A. in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism (1979), and returned to teach medical journalism there (1995, 1996). He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., 1972).

Castleman grew up in Lynbrook, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. Since 1975 he has lived in San Francisco with his wife, a family physician. They have two adult children. In his free time, he enjoys jazz, blues, yoga, downhill skiing, and scuba diving.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative on the best choices in healing, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Blended Medicine: The Best Choices in Healing (Hardcover)

This book gives a good overview of treatment options (mainstream medicine & alternative) for a multitude of common health problems. I was impressed that the author did not focus on just 1 "right" treatment, but highlighted multiple options. Very informative on the best choices in healing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This puts it all together., May 30, 2003

By 

Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blended Medicine: The Best Choices in Healing (Hardcover)

This is a unique and valuable bible of the current state of healing arts. The author has no political agenda. He does not favor 'alternative' vs 'Western' or 'traditional' medicine. He just objectively tells you what works and what does not work so well given specific health condition.

He allows you to attack any ailment you have with a multi-medicinal approach. For any given condition, this book makes insightful recommendation from ayuverdic, homeopathic, herbal, and traditional medicine.

It is unfortunate that within the medical establishment (the AMA) this 'Blended' approach has not taken hold. It is obviously much more successful than going at it from one limited perspective.

Thanks to this book though, it is like having your own in house doctor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Blended Medicine, April 4, 2010

By 

Angela R. Yargus "Amazon lover" (Hiawassee, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blended Medicine: How to Integrate the Best Mainstream and Alternative Remedies for Maximum Health and Healing (Paperback)

What a wonderful collection of information. THIS is, in my opinion, what MODERN medicine should be like! Well-written for everyone to understand!