Customer Reviews

Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, Second Edition

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I appreciate the vast size of the book and massive amount of plants included in it, however it reads like an index. The info is just a summarized listing of what the herbs are used for, by culture, etc. but nothing detailed. A useful book for fast, one stop herbal referencing to quickly find out what plants are useful for what condition, but for the price it should be the last one you buy unless herbal medicine is your profession. Pictures are just a single, black, non-photographic outline of the plant.
Overall, a high quality book but it is more like a pharmaceutical pill/tablet identification guide in structure or a dictionary than a book to refer to for detailed information. It does thoroughly list known uses; and not hypothetical or superstitious "folk" uses, but legitimate ones backed by time or research. This is probably the main focus of the book. So with all that, it is a well done and potentially useful book for those well versed in herbal medicine, esp. those who are doctors of alternative medicine, but not worth the money for the weekend herbalist. In my opinion, start out your herbal library with other books. On a personal note, I take herbal and alternative medicine very seriously and am an exercise physiology student. But herbal medicine is also not my profession. That said, I have an interest in the topic far deeper than just growing a few mint plants for tea in a colorful herb garden.

This is by far the most complete and informative book on medicinal herbs available, and it's sure to be the first source that serious herbalists will turn to for information if they have it in their library. I've spent many dozen hours just reading it as an enjoyable educational text - its hard to put down!!