Customer Reviews

The Herb Book

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book when I was 12 at a library sale for 25 cents. Since then, I've spent quite a bit more on herb books, but this is still the best of my collection! It's a fantasic reference book because you can look up herbs by common name, scientific name, and even by what ailments they treat. It doesn't contain much New Age spiritual information, which suits my scientific mind just fine. The author presents very logical arguments for making your own medicine/cosmetics/spices, whether purchased, home-grown, or wild-gathered. Just like other reviewers have stated, this is my number one resource on herbs, even with the development of the internet and google.

I have been working with herbs for fifteen years now, and this book has been invaluable through all of them. It includes medicinal and cosmetic uses of almost any herb you can think of, as well as traditional uses and some background. I've introduced several herbalist friends to it, and they now refuse to be without it. If you get only one book on herbs, make it this one.

I have been using my copy for thirty years now-- pages are yellowed and crunchy and glue is crackling. The descriptions and origins are great. Line drawings instead of water colors. So much info packed into one volume-- plant taxonomy, uses, recipes, tables galore, multiple indices, myths, legends. I teach herbal classes and this is always the first book I recommend!

This softcover book by John Lust is actually a short write up of herbs. It does not go into any detail about the chemical compounds of the herbs that determine their effectiveness. It's the Reader's Digest version. If that it what you want, then this book is for you. On the other hand, if you really want a comprehensive look at herbs, there are better books out there such as the ones by Rosemary Gladstar, David Hoffman, James Green that come to mind.

This is the book by which I learned the bulk of my herbal knowledge - Knowledge of plants, their medicinal uses and how to harvest , process and store them. Excellent for beginners or seasoned herbalists alike, it is intelligently written, yet simple to understand. It is written in plain language, yet introduces readers to a wealth of medical terminology. After nearly 15 years of using this book, it is still the one I bring with me when I go out into the greenhouse, garden or woods.

This is the one, the one book I feel anyone serious about herbs should have in their collection. It has proved invaluable to me in so many ways. It includes cosmetic and medicinal for most any herb you can think of. It is also good for information on traditional uses and background knowledge. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get a grasp on how it is organised (it didn't take me long) it proves indespensible.

This book has got TONS of info on plants and how to identify them, gathering, storying, drying, planting how to make infusions, herbal mixtures and formulas, dyes its got pretty much everything. Furthermore the only thing that it needs because the pics are drawn and in black and white is a herb encyclopedia with color pictures. great book, great buy. they should make a updated and expanded version.

I've had this book for a few years, and it has been incredibly useful. The only complaint I have is that the author has done a very poor job of cross referencing. There are many appendices, but the herbs are referred to by different names. Sometimes, in order to find a plant mentioned in an appendix, you have to look it up again in another appendix to determine where the information on the plant can be found in the book. Perhaps if a new edition comes out, these will be improved. Otherwise, this book is packed with information.

This book does not give information on how to grow herbs, but it is truly the most complete book on the use of herbs that I've ever found. It provides extensive information on individual plants, indexed by both common and botanical names, and on various methods of preparation. If you've ever wondered about the difference between decoctions, extracts and infusions, then this is the book for you. Whether you want to cure your whooping cough, improve your complexion, or dye your wool, this book has an answer. I simply can't praise it enough. I've worn out two paperback copies and given half-a-dozen away as gifts. I finally decided it was time to invest in the hardcover edition, since it's definitely a "keeper".

This is the first herb book I ever purchased. Some twenty years and a couple of dozen herbals later, it is still the best for the comprehensiveness of its treatment of the subject. If you want to know how to grow herbs, get the Ortho book. For anything else, this is the one book to have if you could only have one.