Customer Reviews

The Energetics of Western Herbs: Treatment Strategies Integrating Western & Oriental Herbal Medicine, Vol. 2

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For the serious student of herbalism, East (Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine) and West, this book is a must. It is complex and sometimes overwhelming for those not educated in Western, Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine (biology, diet, nutrition and herbs) however the pearls of information are endless, comprehensive information more than compensate for any deficiencies. Each reading brings greater understanding as well as success in treating disease. From this book, for example, I discovered that peppermint oil really works in curing tooth abscesses, root infections as long as you change your diet (eliminate sugar, fatty, oily foods and overeating). My dentists wanted to do a root canal. I declined and seven years later my teeth are fine. The biological education via Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine is comprehensive as it covers all the bases. I highly recommend this book is addition to Yoga of Herbs and Ayurvedic Medicine by Dr. David Frawlety and Dr. Vasant Lad. The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal MedicineAyurvedic Healing: A Comprehensive Guide

It's truly refreshing to read a book on botanical medicines with such weight and depth; a book that clearly took years and years of clinical experience and research to create. This is one of the very very few textbooks on herbal medicine that can truly be called comprehensive. A genuine gift for the reader who wants up-to-date and reliable information on more than 200 important medicinal herbs used today.

The Energetics of Western Herbs by Peter Holmes is unique in so many respects, it's hard to list them all. But the key to this book is integration on many levels: pharmacology and energetics, Western and Chinese herbal medicine, modern phytotherapy and traditional empirical herbal practice. This is because the author is one of the very few truly integral thinkers in the realm of holistic medicine. He stretches himself and the reader into the newly emerging terrain of thought that not only bridges east and west, but also includes the relationships between culture and the individual, the macrocosm and the microcosm. And he does this in a concrete and rational way that transcends some of the New Age philosophies that lack depth when scrutinized.

This book goes well beyond its years and I can say with certainty that I've yet to find any herbal textbook that compares. As a holistic care provider I consider it essential for my practice. This is a book that any serious foreward thinking person should own with an interest in herbal medicines or the broader cultural history of herbal medicine itself.