The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide [Paperback]

Brigitte Mars (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

Herbal medicine has been with us since the beginning, one of the many aspects of humakind's symbiotic relationship with the natural world. It is the most time-yested healing tradition in the world, having evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in disparate regions and diverse cultures. In "The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicne." renowned herbalist Brigitte Mars offers a concise, comprehensive guide to the vast array of medicinal herbs that are now commonly available in North America. Drawing on healing traditions from around the world, Mars presents detailed monograps of more than 180 herbs, from the commonplace tea and raspberry to the weedy dandelion and goldenrod to the more exotic ho shou wu and zeodary. The moographs give a broad range of information about the herbs, including their physiological effects, constituents, energetics, historical and current medicinal uses, other common uses, edible properties, natural range, and contraindications. Each monograph follows a consistent format, allowing readers to find the information they need quickly. Students and experienced practitioners of herbal medicine alike will find this one-stop reference an invaluable companion in the study, prescription, and use of herbs to achieve health, mitigate illness, and correct physiological imbalances. As she does in her many other books, Mars writes with the goal of guiding readers toward the safe, effective, self-empowering, and confident use of plants as healing and preventive medicine. Her forthright attitude, pragmatic advice, and gentle humor shine here, inviting readers to use "The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine" as both a study aid and a wide-ranging exploration of the plant realm.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brigitte Mars, A.H.C., is an herbalist and nutritional consultant from Boulder, Colorado, who has been working with natural medicine for more than thirty years. She teaches herbal medicine through Esalen, the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, and the Naropa Institute. She is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. She is the author of several books, including Healing Herbal Teas (Basic Health Publications, 2005) and Rawsome! (Basic Health Publications, 2004).

Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: Basic Health Publications; 1st edition (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591201934
• ISBN-13: 978-1591201939
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brigitte Mars is an herbalist and nutritional consultant with over forty years experience. Brigitte lived in a tipi for two and a half years solely on wild edible plants years ago. She is the author of Beauty by Nature, Rawsome!, The Sexual Herbal, Addiction Free Naturally, Healing Herbal Teas, The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, and co-author of The Country Almanac of Home Remedies, and The Hemp Nut Health and Cookbook. Brigitte has had a radio show on KGNU called Naturally for over twenty years. She is a professional member of The American Herbalist Guild. Ms. Mars teaches at Naropa University, Boulder College of Massage, Esalen Institute, Omega Institute, Kripalu, and Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts. Brigitte is a blogger for The Huffington Post and Care2.
Brigitte has been happily married for thirty years, to human design analyst, Tom Pfeiffer with whom she teaches raw food workshops. They are the parents of Sunflower Mars, and actress and yogini, Rainbeau Mars (www.rainbeaumars.com).
www.brigittemars.com, [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best reference yet!, May 1, 2010

By 

Kendall McEuen (Astoria/ Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide (Paperback)

This is not a herbal reference to overlook. Having done extensive research as well as cross referencing, this is by far the most extensive, well written, accessible guide you will find. Not only is Mars' writing style educated and articulate, it is also extermely compassionate and through. She incorporates documented scientific research, historical usage, international names, specialized treatment suggestions as well as contradictions, and so much more. A true herbalist to trust and appreciate.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great read, but not very scientific., January 10, 2011

By 

Ace Thomas (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide (Paperback)

I don't think this reference will be sitting on my desktop for very long mainly because of the lack of scientific research and dosage options. I'm very big on the scientific aspects of herbalism and not so big on the alternative views such as the yin and yang of plants and what element the plant corresponds with. Not saying that doesn't work for some people, it just doesn't work for me. With this in mind it made my overall view on the book a bit apathetic. Mars does say what constituents are in the plants, but it seems very dry and lacking with no introduction on the basics of the botanic break-down of these constituents and what they are used for and why. Another reason why I felt like this book was lacking as a "desktop reference" is that each herb doesn't have a particular "general use" column. She does say what the herb is good for in a specific form, (e.g. tincture, extract, poultice...) but the way it is written seems clumsy to me almost as if most herbs are all-cures. More specifically she lists around a twenty-five average of ailments a single herb can cure and although some maybe true, as a desktop reference I would enjoy seeing some scientific evidence of these herbs working in this form or manner, or even what active ingredients/constituents go into aiding the ailments.

I did enjoy the book for a few reasons though, and this is why it truly remained a 3/5 instead of a dashing 1/5. I loved the inserts on languages for each herb. For every herb Mars wonderfully translates the common-name into various languages around the world. I thought this was a great learning experience for me to find out what my favourite herbs name's are in different languages. I did enjoy reading on the "Medicinal Uses" column, not because I was looking for the actual use, but because Mars had a lot of lovely historical information that is just lovely to read--even if a bit hard to filter out from the other clutter. I would also like to point out her, "Other Uses" column which by itself was worth the price of the book. In this column there's always a tid-bit of interesting mythological, historical, or alternative use for the herb in question--which in my opinion is a wonderful addition to the book.

Overall, I'd say Mars book is well worth looking into. Even if not for a herbal reference, her knowledge on herbs is nearly boundless and, even if she may not be as scientific as others, Mars historical and alternative insight shines through brightly in this lovely book that I would recommend to any herbalist looking for a good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neat and easy, July 28, 2010

By 

dandelion - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide (Paperback)

This is an excellent reference guide and once again one of Brigette's earlier books that shows how knowledable she is and how quickly the individual with no prior training can jump right into learning about Herbal Medicine. I don't refer to this book as often as I use to, but it's an excellent reference tool and learning tool. Just flipping through it, you will become a fan of Brigette and so want to own all her books. She lays it out in a digestable way, you learn fast and easy and it's never to wordy. To the point and emphasis on areas that need more detail. A must have in your library of Herbal Medicine.