The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists (Hardcover)

by Giovanni Maciocia (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'This version remedies some of the shortcomings of the first edition and is now as near a complete exposition of Chinese medicine theory as could be presented in a single text. It is unlikely to be supplanted for years to come, if ever, and with Giovanni's similarly seminal textbooks on clinical practice, diagnostics, gynaecology and obstetrics and tongue diagnosis, forms the bedrock for all practitioners of Chinese medicine in the West.'

Peter Deadman

"The text is beautifully presented in two colours. A large number of clear illustrations and text boxes highlight the important points and aid readability. Learning outcomes are summarised at the end of each chapter. This is a well designed and easy to read textbook, which sources mainly from the classic Chinese medicine texts, including both ancient literature and modern books. It benefits from the author's rich experience in clinical practice in the West and his training in China. An in-depth understanding of the principles and theories of TCM enables the author to explain this complicated ancient healing system in a way that is understandable to Western students.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in studying TCM systematically, particulary those intending to develop a career in acupuncture." R Guo, Exeter, UK --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
The most complete, clearly written textbook on the principles of Chinese medicine --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Churchill Livingstone (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0443039801
• ISBN-13: 978-0443039805
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,835 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get This Book, October 23, 2001

By	George Washington (San Mateo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

For the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Students:
Before writing a review I want to say that the Acupuncture Boards require this book as their main diagnostic book, but also; they require, "The Web that Has No Weaver," by Kapchuk and Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustiion (Rev. Ed.)(CAM) by Cheng Xinnong. I would also like to recommend - but not required - Foundations in Chinese Acupuncture (Rev. Ed.) by Ellis, Wiseman and Boss. This book is great for channel theory and has excellent detail throughout.

For Everyone else:
The above also applies to everyone else but mostly to TCM students. In review of Giovanni's book I must say that from a Western Medical science point of view it was easier to understand than "The Web" and I found that it presented the material in a logical systematic fashion with better and more complete explanations. It is better to start with this book, than with some of the others because once you have a good background with this one, you can understand the different wording in the other books (CAM, Web, etc.). Overall written well and highly recommended.

Five Stars!

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dicey CA State Board Book, January 24, 2003

By	Brian B. Carter (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Maciocia's work has been quite influential in the U.S. despite the fact that some of his information is from the classics, while other parts are his own creation. He does not always differentiate between the two, nor does he always cite his sources.

For example, the idea that the outer back shu points are effective for the treatment of emotions... not from the Classic sources, according to Philippe Sionneau. So where did it come from? Who made it up?

However, we still have to know everything in his books for the CA state board. His zang-fu herbalized-style point functions, 5 phase type, three jiao patterns, etc. are unique to this book.

In its defense, it does have a lot of important basic info, and it's written by a native English speaker... but it's a vastly different look at Chinese Medicine from say The Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine by Nigel Wiseman.

Good start for the new student... but neither the last word, nor infallible.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity and insight that is all too rare in an unusual and challenging topic., October 24, 2005

By	David A. Burnet "[e-mail]" (Fawn Grove, PA; USA.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists. Second Edition (Hardcover)

The sheer depth and breadth of the clarity and insight about Traditional Chinese Medicine that comes through this book with such ease for a reader is a wonder. Strong praise, yes; but all too often these subjects are obscure...and even good books usually only *start* to give people new to the subject insight as well as good, foundational knowledge.

Don't be put off by the size of the book or it's price - in this case, it's well worth it.

This book makes it easy to understand paradigms that are new and unusual to most westerners, with greater depth than is usually found -- in addition to providing LOTS of foundation and background knowledge.

I highly recommend this book.