From the doctor-philosophers of classical antiquity to the shamans of today's rain forests, healers have prescribed a multitude of cures culled from the flora around them, and in many societies these ancient treatments are still in everyday use. In India, for example, Ayurvedic physicians continue a tradition first codified in written form many centuries before the birth of Christ. The origins of Chinese medicine are similarly shrouded in myth, but its effectiveness has been proved time and time again although the reasons why frequently remain elusive. And in many cases, Western medicine has been too quick to reject as "old wives' tales" the lessons learned and refined over countless generations.
In "Nature's Medicine" you'll learn how a malaria-stricken Spanish countess was cured by the bark of a Peruvian tree, the source of what we now call quinine, and how 18th-century doctors used digitalis for all sorts of ills -- but, ironically, not for heart disease. You'll discover that few natural compounds have been used as the basis for modern pharmaceuticaldrugs but that many have served as molecular templates for proprietary synthetic formulas. And you'll see how ancient theories based on different views of the human body can lead to surprisingly effective medicines.
Featuring some 200 full-color photographs, period illustrations from old medical texts, and watercolors illustrating a catalog of 102 healing herbs, "Nature's Medicine" is at once a vivid historical chronicle, a valuable compendium of healers' lore, and a revealing excursion into the world of plants whose power to cure has been known for millennia but is only beginning to be understood.
