Customer Reviews

Herbal Vade Mecum: 800 Herbs, Spices, Essential Oils, Lipids, Etc.-Constituents, Properties, Uses, and Caution

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An excellent quick reference for the professional herbalist. It is in the same niche as other quick reference books such as Potter's Encylcopedia or Lust's Herb book, but far superior to either, because 1) it has many more herbs 2) it has up-to-date and accurate details on plant chemistry 3) the author has mined the wealth of herbal literature in German, Italian, and French 4) it contains reasoned judgements on safety considerations lacking in the other books in its class, and 5) it accurately describes the most important actions and most important uses, in a well thought-out section, instead of giving long lists of theoretical or minor actions. I'll be using this as a textbook for my intermediate-level students at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism. --- Paul Bergner, Editor, Medical Herbalism journal

The Herbal Vade Mecum is a very good materia medica for the practising herbalist. Uses are given, dosages aren't, so you need to know your plants before you use this book.
Beginners might not do all that much with it, except for the teensy little fact that they'd get solid practical sensible cautions for the listed plants instead of the usual overly theoretical overcautious ones.
Were I a beginner, I'd buy it for that alone. No pictures, but then there are lots of picture books out there.

This highly informative, attractively priced reference packs tons of information in a well-written, accurately designed collection of herbal information book. Reccommended for botanists, pharmocognicists and horticulturists (to mention a few), this book rivals industry 'greats' such as 'Tropica' and 'Exotica' (which run hundreds of dollars) AND has a much more digestible price. The design of the book makes it easy to use at your desktop or in the field. Bravo Mr. Skenderi! Someone finally got it right!

I have used this book endless times when writing up monographs for my own library; it is a thorough, complete & invaluable resource for any studying to become a Master Herbalist or even for those who wish to increase their knowledge of plant medicine. As the people of NOLA learned, plant medicine can be life-saving; many of our pharmaceuticals (better than 80%) have their basis in the plant world &, as such, have a natural "synergy" which cannot be duplicated in a lab. This is an excellent reference when exploring these natural benefits, many of which are commonly available or can be easily grown.

Herbal Vade Mecum has become my go-to book when researching any herb & I highly recommend it!

As a herbal practitioner, this is an invaluable tool for my library. Whether you refer to it personally or professionally, it is thorughly written, with a user friendly reference system.

I found this book difficult to follow. I feel it's for a more advanced herbal student. It was not very helpful to me.

This guy obvious knows his stuff, but does a poor job in tranlating his salient information to his readers and the public.
I'm into the health food movement like a lot of people nowdays. Unfortunately most books and programs don't cover all of the many ways to get and stay healthy. Although the above book listed is an excellent resource. It's like most authors and programs are trying to be too pc (politically correct). To correct myself a little, most health advice, programs, books and supplements usually offer pretty good advice these days.You know:
1. Don't alcohol
2. Don't abuse drugs
3. Don't smoke (cigaretts and the like)
4. Eat move live fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Eat less process foods and meats.
Now all of this is good advice, although there is a right way and wrong way to do anything. I saw an excellent book with a good 8 step plan. Search Amazon for: The Magic Of Mother Nature's Healing Foods. I liked it.