Customer Reviews

The Cherokee Herbal: Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is not a field guide and doesn't really have any pictures. What is does have is a lot of information on the traditional Cherokee uses of herbs (over 450!), their directional and spiritual associations, and myths and stories about Cherokee herbal medicine. I recommend it to people who want a book on herbalism from a cultural perspective, and I think it blows away "Indian Herbalogy of North America", which couldn't seem to focus on the *Native American* cultural interpretations.

The definitive book on Cherokee Herbal Medicine is availble to the World. I can give away all my other plant medicine books because this has all I will ever need, it is a masterpiece. Generations of people in the future will be so grateful that this knowlege has been set to paper especially the Cherokee People. This book is the culmination of more than 30 years of learning and research, gifting the World with crucial knowlege that could easily have been lost forever. Wah Doh

The material is covered in a readable manner and with useable details. This is a very useable resource on herbal remedies for the southeast US area and provides insight into Cherokee methodology. Both aspects are well covered.

If you, or someone you know has interest in herbal knowledge, don't pass this book up. It's very reflective of what eastern herbs were, and still used by many eastern tribes. Not all the herbs mentioned are given the Tsalagi/Cherokee term, but the ones given not only tell you the name, but the reason why that plant was named so. This book has been the product of helping to stop the loses of so much knowledge. I treasure this one, I feel that you will also. There are no photos, nor sketches of what these plants look like so you'll need to have access to a field guide as well when using this book. But, a field guide doesn't have the description of knowledge this book has, so they go hand in hand, you won't want without the other.

Garret has compiled an extensive list of herbs with their common and botanical names. There is no explanation of how these herbs were combined for various cures and therefore provides no understanding of the healing practices.

[...]

This book is exactly as described and offers a thorough examination of worlwide Shamanistic practices. For anyone who desires to learn more and perhaps incorporate some of these practices into his own spiritual life, this is the best I've run across. As a writer researching for a book with a Native American Shaman as one of its characters, I found this one invaluable.

This book relating to Cherokee Medicine makes a good read. When I was young I learned much about Native American medicine from my paternal grandfather who was born in Indian Territory in 1889. This book made me remember many things that are important to know. It is a good book for those interested in herbal cures and those people looking for traditional ways that our grandparents and great 'grands' lived by. They did not have doctors or hospitals to their benefit: so what they knew of such remedies made the difference between life and death.
These same remedies would make for "new cures" that would be the envy of any modern researchers looking to make today's "medicine" more viable. A good read and most informative.
Thank you, Joe Blevins, author of After the Republic, the Texas Republic, and Gone to Texas.

I ordered this for my mother in law, and she absolutely loves it! Says it has lots of herbal remedies that she can use. If she likes it, I like it.

At every turn Mr. Garrett pleads his inability to share the complete lore of the uses of the herbs because of their "sacred significance." He ends up with less Native American cultural/religious information than can be gleaned from any of Tony Hillerman's mystery series, plus a listing of plants which grow in the Appalachians and hints of the conditions in which they might be helpful. Note that these hints do not include the formulae for making them useful with other herbs. A complete waste of time and money.

I like this book. Info is given in an effort to keep the ways of the Medicine Man alive. Too much of the Native American spirituality and ways is being muddled and lost.

I don't believe this book gives me all the info I want and need to cure what ails us but it's a solid and very intersting start. This book is a well loved member of my library and I recommend it to anyone interested in where we come from and how and why we are to respect Mother Earth.

Kudos to the author for making such a lofty goal a reality.