A respected writer on health offers an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of alternative healing therapies, including relaxation techniques, aromatherapy, and vitamin supplementation, explaining which therapies work, and showing how to use them safely. Tour.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This well-researched compendium by the author of The Healing Herbs provides an upbeat introduction to drug-free healing methods. Subjects, covered in separate chapters, include acupuncture, low-fat eating, sleep, weight training, cognitive therapy, vitamins and minerals, yoga and supplementary cancer therapies (in the chapter "Complementary Cancer Care"). Quoting liberally from leading researchers and/or healers in the respective areas, Castleman describes the therapies and suggests how-to steps for applying them. As is expected of Rodale's offerings, the prose is clear, straightforward and not marked by authorial personality. "Resources" is an annotated appendix listing information on books, magazines, newsletters, videos, products and national organizations pertaining to each topic. This is a well-reasoned guide for those in need of DIY advice and rational explanations of alternative, non-pharmaceutical therapies.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Castleman (The Healing Herbs, Rodale, 1991), who is considered one of the top health writers in the country, has compiled one of the finest, most-comprehensive volumes on alternative healing, written for lay readers. By listing only those therapies that have withstood serious medical research, Castleman has created a unique book. He provides the history of, and scientific studies for, 33 different therapies, ranging from acupressure to yoga. Also included is an A-Z Cure Finder to locate appropriate therapies. There are many new books in this field; many give the history of natural therapies, but they do not offer the scientific bases for them. See, for example, New Choices in Natural Healing (LJ 7/95) for other current works. Highly recommended for all popular health collections. Index not seen.
Loraine F. Sweetland, Rebok Memorial Lib., Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Loraine F. Sweetland, Rebok Memorial Lib., Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Michael Castleman is a journalist and novelist, author of more than 2,000 newspaper, magazine, and Web articles, 12 consumer health books, and three mystery novels.
He is "one of the nation's leading health writers" (Library Journal). For 35 years, he has been a prolific freelance medical journalist focused on optimal health, mainstream medicine, alternative therapies, nutrition, fitness, and sexuality. His nonfiction books have a combined total of more than 2.25 million copies in print. His comprehensive guide to herbal medicine, The Healing Herbs, recently expanded and updated as The New Healing Herbs, 3rd Edition (Rodale, 2009), has sold more than 1 million copies.
Three of Castleman's books have been Book of the Month Club Selections: The Healing Herbs; Blended Medicine (Rodale, 2000), a home medical guide that combines mainstream and alternative therapies; and Nature's Cures (Rodale, 1996), a scientific investigation of 33 alternative healing arts, everything from acupuncture to yoga. Two have won "Health Book of the Year" awards from the American Library Association: Blended Medicine and Nature's Cures. One was in print for 28 years, Sexual Solutions. Foreign-rights sales have included: the British Commonwealth, Germany, France, Latin America, Spain, Finland, and China.
Castleman has also written widely for magazines, among them: Smithsonian, Reader's Digest, Prevention, Family Circle, Redbook, Self, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, New Woman, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Men's Journal, Psychology Today, Playboy, Parenting, Child, Natural Health, Natural Solutions, Mother Jones, and Salon.com, among others. Twice he has been nominated for National Magazine Awards--in 1997, for "Harm With Every Puff: How Smoking Hurts," in Mother Jones, and in 1996, for "The Real Truth About Breast Cancer," in San Francisco Focus.
His newspaper articles have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, San Francisco Examiner, and San Jose Mercury-News, among others.
Castleman's R-rated mystery series is set in San Francisco, and features newspaperman-sleuth Ed Rosenberg. Titles include: The Lost Gold of San Francisco (2003, movie option) Death Caps (2007) and A Killing in Real Estate (2010).
Castleman earned an M.A. in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism (1979), and returned to teach medical journalism there (1995, 1996). He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., 1972).
Castleman grew up in Lynbrook, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. Since 1975 he has lived in San Francisco with his wife, a family physician. They have two adult children. In his free time, he enjoys jazz, blues, yoga, downhill skiing, and scuba diving.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It could be better,
By A Customer
This review is from: Nature's Cures: From Acupressure and Aromatherapy to Walking and Yoga--The Ultimate Guide to the Best, Scientifically Proven, Drug-Free Healing Methods (Hardcover)
I read the book because a friend ordered it from Rodale, while I liked the book, for general purposes, it really didn't have any guts to speak of. When I went thru the book, I didn't feel there was enough information or the information wasn't as complete or informative as it could have been, especially for the price that Rodale was selling it for. *substantally higher than here, and the suggested list price I might add* Yes it had a few tidbits of information that were interesting, but, in my opinion, if you want this book to answer all your questions about specific areas that are listed, you would be better off purchasing a specialty book for the various areas that this book covers or supposedly covers. My friend who isn't an herbalist, but, does read up on various areas of health, fitness, and herbs, was unimpressed enough to send the book back to them, within their trial period. Also she is the type that usually will keep everything even if its just for 1 or 2 bits of information she hasn't found elsewhere.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF NATURAL HEALING METHODS,
By
This review is from: Nature's Cures: From Acupressure and Aromatherapy to Walking and Yoga--The Ultimate Guide to the Best, Scientifically Proven, Drug-Free Healing Methods (Hardcover)
Michael Castleman is a journalist and novelist, author of books such as The New Healing Herbs: The Essential Guide to More Than 125 of Nature's Most Potent Herbal Remedies, as well as three mystery novels.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, "'Nature's Cures' explores 33 valuable and fascinating healing arts---some ancient, others recently discovered... But despite their differences, they are all safe, effective self-care-oriented and natural... 'Alternative' implies an either/or situation: You either take drugs for your back pain or you try an alternative, such as yoga. But as Nature's cures become increasingly incorporated into conventional medicine, we see fewer either/or situations... Use the natural remedies described in 'Nature's Cures' to enhance your well-being and prevent illness. When illness strikes, use them to complement your physician's treatment plan." Here are some additional quotations from the book: "(C)onventional medicine ... has achieved some astonishing therapeutic results no other healing system can match in the treatment of trauma, medical emergencies, serious infections and burns and premature birth, as well as in cosmetic and rehabilitative procedures such as orthodontics and reattachment of severed limbs." (Pg. xviii) "Western acupuncture researchers offer a different yet similar explanation. The hands and feet are richly endowed with motor nerves, and the ear is only place on the body where the vagus nerve comes close to the skin." (Pg. 25) "Consider the fate of heroic patient George Washington. One day in 1799, the 67-year old but healthy father of our country developed a sore throat with fever and chills. Chances are he had tonsillitis or strep throat... Washington's physicians bled him four pints of blood, leaving him anemic and weak, then gave him cathartics and large doses of mercury. He was dead within 24 hours." (Pg. 236) "After smoking, a high-fat diet is the second most lethal habit... These statistics in no way minimize the tragedies of alcoholism, murder or drug addiction. But they provide a perspective on what's REALLY killing us." (Pg. 261) "The placebo effect is hardly foolish. It's a marvelous example of mind/body medicine at work. Gullibility has nothing to do with it.. Parents use the placebo effect all the time. When a child gets a scrape or other boo-boo and bursts into tears, parents often say, 'I'll kiss it and make it better.' Quite often, it works... maybe doctors should try it." (Pg. 309)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nature's Cures: From Acupressure and Aromatherapy,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Nature's Cures: From Acupressure and Aromatherapy to Walking and Yoga--The Ultimate Guide to the Best, Scientifically Proven, Drug-Free Healing Methods (Hardcover)
Very good health book to keep around the house. It is a well recommended book. I advise that you purchase one for yourself.
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