Customer Reviews

The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook: Your Comprehensive Reference to the Best Herbs for Healing

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am quite impressed with this book. The amount of information that Duke has crammed into this slim volume is unbelievable. The herb profiles contain everything you would want to know about an herb before using it. The safety rating is such a great tool. I wonder why Duke is the first herbalist to think of it (at least I think he's the first. Never seen it in any other herbal). In this collection of herbs, there are North, South and Central American plants as well as European and Asian ones. There's a nice therapeutic index too, listing what herbs are good for which conditions. Duke has a great writing style. It reflects his incredible knowledge, sense of humor and just plain common sense. Excellent book! If I could only have 3 herb books, this would be one of them.

Dr. Duke's book, The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook, contains accurate, no-nonsense information on many of the medically useful herbal preparations. His background in botany, provides excellent advise on uses and possible dangers.

For those herbs he includes there are lists of optimum dosages and warnings of possible contra-indications or dangers involved.

Over 180 herbs are described, in a quick to use format.

Even though it covers a small number of the herbs available for use, the ones he includes are important in treating a range of conditions.

I found it quite readable even for browsing in an evening, and emminently useful when faced with a sudden onset of a medical problem of the sort most treatable with herbs.

I have read all of James Duke's books and this one is the best and most essential. Every common medicinal herb is described and rated for its value medicinally and for safety in a uniform and formulamatic way in alphabetic order. This makes this book both concise and incredibly valuable for quick reference. No matter how many times I have read this book I find myself going to it daily for quick information and in this regard it has no equal. The only shortcoming is really by design it excludes "non-herbal" though related information. For instance, you may find information on bromelain, but no reference to using it with quercetin since quercetin is a flavonoid. Duke's newer book on "anti-aging" does take this into account, but it is not neatly or usefully organized for quick reference. Lastly, many books of this type are quite expensive, "The Green Pharmacy" is the exception with new copies available for around $10. and used for around $6.

The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook is an informative and concise resource on the medicinal value of herbs written to the layman yet of value to the practitioner. Dr. Duke's no-nonsense approach to demonstrating the therapeutic value to useful herbal preparations as well as potential adverse reactions provides the reader with a useful index of commonly used herbs. This book is an easy read, and it is written in a straight-forward manner that makes it easily understood by those new to the ageless use of plants in our environment to ease and cure disease.

I have been reading through "The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook," trying first one thing then another for several weeks now, ever since the book came in the mail. Let me tell you, this book is a life saver (not literally, but maybe).

The first thing I tried was 100% cranberry juice, not the cocktail product. Please pardon this personal comment, but I had dark urine from not drinking enough water. After drinking 100% cranberry juice for a couple of weeks, my urine is now normal. I must admit that I could not drink 100% at pure strength and added a little orange juice to it. I also committed to drinking more water.

Celery seed, or celery stalks, helps control high blood pressure and cholesterol. Medication is not getting my high blood pressure down so I can have eye surgery. I'm eating lots of celery to see if this truly works.

Rubbing crushed basil leaves on exposed body parts will keep mosquitoes at bay when outdoors and people when indoors (haha, just a little old lady joke).

Pour about four ounces of oats into your bath water for a good soak to relieve itchy skin, especially psoriasis.

Powdered or fresh ginger aids in preventing blood fats from forming, keeps fibromyalgia pain at bay, and helps abate joint pain, among its many benefits.

These are just a few things I tried or passed on to family members to try, with each having success. I highly recommend this book not only for its health benefits, but also for its entertainment value. The book is fun to read!

James Duke's book "The Green Pharmacy" was one of the first few I read about herbs used for healing. It still has a place in my bookcase. This book has much more complete information about the plants included, and seems more geared for the level at which I practice now. As a nurse and now a trained herbalist, I like the mention of pharmaceuticals used for the same treatment goals. The last 14 years, I have studied both herbs and prescription drugs extensively. Dr. Duke's scientific yet down to earth approach is greatly appreciated. This book will find use as a reference for both the pharmacology lectures I present, as well as those about healing with botanicals. My thanks to Dr. Duke for another winner.

This is a great book to keep on hand. If you enjoy the outdoors and want some home grown remedies for just about everything, this is the book to keep with you. It will become your best companion as you work to get away from the world of big pharma. I have used it to guide me in what herbs I plant so I can keep on hand some of the basics. It also has some recipes in it, just for fun. It is amazing what is out there that we overlook every day.

Overall I really like this book and it is a great resource. However, I have looked for a couple Herbs and they are not in the book. So that was disappointing. Still a good book. I did receive the book quickly and in excellent condition.

James Duke has a real winner here. I have tried many of the remedies in this book and they work. Great advice, affordable health care, what more do you want?

I have truly enjoyed reading this book. Lots and lots of important information. Not only does it give you the good herbs, but it also names to bad herbs and gives its contraindications. I was very pleased upon receipt of book.