Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies (4th Edition) [Paperback]

Steven Foster (Author), Virginia M Tyler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0789008750 | ISBN-13: 978-0789008756 | Publication Date: August 5, 1999 | Edition: 4

Here is the fourth edition of Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies, providing essential botanical information as well as folkloric background of herbal remedies in a clear, accessible style. Unlike other herb books, this book gives you a serious evaluation of both the positive and negative features of the use of the most important herbs for therapeutic purposes. This new edition features additional scientific data on herbs that will enable you to make wise, informed choices about the benefits and risks of herbs currently on the market.

Viewing herbs from a scientific standpoint, the authors assess herbs based on available scientific information and include the latest details on advocacy literature and the new regulatory environment. Each write-up includes descriptive information on the source of the plant, its traditional uses, and an evaluation of the relevant and current literature which helps support or disprove intended use of the plant. This new edition of Tyler's classic Honest Herbal provides you with all of the following features not found in any of the previous editions, such as:

• the voice and experience of medicinal plant specialist Steven Foster, one of the most respected authorities in herbal medicine
  
• research and information about cat's claw, celery, garcinia, grape seed, kava, pygeum, and wild yam
  
• what you need to know about the latest clinical trials on many best-selling herbs, including black cohosh, echinacea, garlic, ginko, ginseng, St. John's wort, and saw palmetto
  
• hundreds of new, supporting references from scientific studies on herbs and other dietary supplements
  
  Containing candid evaluations and insight into the current and thriving herbal market, this guide also provides you with a complete summary chart that allows you to quickly access the risks and benefits of the herbs discussed. Tyler's Honest Herbal will help you distinguish fact from fiction in the world of herbal therapies and remedies and lead you to safe and effectiveness of these natural resources.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Originally published as The Honest Herbal in 1982, Tyler's Honest Herbal is still the classic herbal guide for consumers and health practitioners alike, fully referenced with the latest peer-reviewed scientific data. As in previous editions, great emphasis is placed on safety concerns when taking herbs. Tyler's Herbs of Choice, a new edition of the 1994 Herbs of Choice, discusses the therapeutic application of herbal remedies for over 100 health problems. Objective and scientifically sound, it augments Tyler's Honest Herbal, although the titles do not need to be bought together. An added bonus is the useful chapter on "Herbal Regulations," as reliable and understandable information on this topic is hard to find.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"No hype, just the facts. This book is what I look at first when considering herbal therapy." -- Isadore Rosenfeld, MD, Attending Physician, The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York

"Will quickly become a trusted resource for anyone contemplating, prescribing, or taking herbal therapies. . . . Untainted by commercialism and refined into a highly readable fourth edition. . . . The authors deserve special kudos for their extensive use of current, peer-reviewed articles as a basis for making conclusions." -- Leonard S. Marks, MD, Medical Director, Urological Sciences Research Foundation and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Urology, UCLA School of Medicine --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 470 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 4 edition (August 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789008750
• ISBN-13: 978-0789008756
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Foster is the author or co-author of seventeen books, including National Geographic's A Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine (2006, with Rebecca Johnson), a 2007 New York Public Library "Best of Reference." He is senior author of three Peterson Field Guides, including A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs (with Dr. James A. Duke), 2nd edition, 2000, A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs with Christopher Hobbs, (2002), and A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants of North America (with Roger Caras, 1995). My goal is simply to explore the relationship between people and plants in words and images. My travels have taken me to every continent except Antarctica, mostly in search of medicinal plants to photograph from the Amazon rainforest to the highlands of Vietnam, resulting in a photographic library of over 200,000 images. In 1974, I began my career at the Herb Department of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Community, America's oldest herb business dating to 1799. It has been an extraordinary journey, and it is my pleasure to share my experience through my books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most reliable herbal reference you can get, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies (4th Edition) (Paperback)

Varro Tyler is not the kind of herbalist who recommends apanoply of plant materials to cure every ill. On the contrary -- hewill warn you away from a number of dangerous herbs you'll find trumpeted on the Internet or sitting temptingly on the health food store shelves, and explain why others, while not unsafe, will not do what they ads claim.

Tyler's monographs are interesting as well as informative. In a few concise paragraphs he gives the history of each herb, from its earliest uses right up to what is claimed for it now. He explains the pharmacology of each one in detailed but clearly understandable terms. He tells you what to be careful of -- if you have a certain condition, or take certain pharmaceutical drugs, for example. And, most important, he tells you whether or not it's safe and whether or not he thinks it will work.

Tyler is quite conservative. He cites scientific studies (all meticulously referenced) as evidence for everything he says. He tells you whether the studies were well-crafted or poorly done. He explains why "if it's natural, it must be safe" is not true. But if Tyler says it's safe and probably does what you need, it's worth trying.

With all of the claims for herbs we're bombarded with these days, this is a book I wouldn't be without. Check it before you buy anything, and you'll avoid both putting yourself in harms way, and wasting your money.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Honest, but disappointing, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies (4th Edition) (Paperback)

I enjoy Mr. Tyler's monthly column in Prevention magazine and expected this book to be similar in scope and format. I was disappointed to find that it wasn't; much of it is written in medical terms but I can't imagine it being detailed enough for use by a physician or phamacist. I found the book I was looking for in "The American Pharmaceutical Assocation's Practical Guide to Herbal Health" (don't let the title scare you, it's straight-forward) by Andrea Piece. I do appreciate Mr Tyler honest assessments concerning the use of herbs; however, for me at least, this could also have been a much better book than it turned out to be. I will continuous to enjoy his magazine articles though.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Physician and fellow author recommends this book!, October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies (4th Edition) (Paperback)

In writing "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain" I used several references along with literature searches to document pros and cons of various so-called "smart drugs" or "nootropics", many of which included herbal preparations. Tylers reference was by far the most well-documented and most concise review of herbals that I perused. It is a no-nonsense alphabetical guide that everyone who walks into a pharmacy or health food store to buy these preparations should own. May I recommend "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain" as a companion...Ken Giuffre MD