Ethnobotany: The Evolution of a Discipline [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Editor), Siri Von Reis (Editor) "Although ethnobotany has only recently come into its own as a distinct academic component of the natural sciences, interest in the uses, symbolism, ritualistic, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, British Columbia, Dioscorides Press (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The value of biodiversity and the need to preserve the untapped botanical resources of places like the Amazon rain forests is now widely acknowledged. Less widely understood but equally threatened is a key means of access to these resources, the knowledge and use of these plants by local nonliterate peoples whose traditional cultures are fast disappearing. This book explains and promotes ethnobotany, which investigates this knowledge by providing an overview of its history, practice, and value worldwide. Chapters are contributed by an impressive international array of field ethnobotanists, conservationists, and academics. Schultes spent many years as a field ethnobotanist, professor, and director of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University, where von Reis is an associate. This is an important, in-depth academic study of a discipline for those with a serious interest in ethnobotany. Libraries seeking more popular works might consider two books Schultes wrote with Robert F. Raffauf: the photographic essay Vine of the Soul: Medicine Men, Their Plants and Rituals in the Colombian Amazonia (Synergetic Pr., 1992) and The Healing Forest: Medicinal and Toxic Plants of the Northwest Amazonia (Dioscorides Pr., 1990).?Marit MacArthur, Auraria Lib., Denver
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A timely volume that presents a broad overview of ethnobotany, showing how this rapidly developing field of inquiry has evolved to its present day high degree of sophisticaiton."—Northeastern Naturalist, February 1998 (Northeastern Naturalist )

"An important reference for anyone interested in a whole range of fields related to plants and people from anthropology to sociology; highly recommended for all libraries."—L. G. Kavaljian, Choice, September 1996 (L. G. Kavaljian Choice )

"An important, in-depth academic study of a discipline for those with a serious interest in ethnobotany."—Marit MacArthur, Library Journal, August 1, 1995 (Marit MacArthur Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931146283
• ISBN-13: 978-0931146282
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All about Ethnobotany, March 12, 1998

By A Customer

This book is a great compilation from leading ethnobotanists, describing the field, and bringing pertinent issues to the fore. It is an excellent collection, with well-renowned ethnobotanists like Plotkin, Balick, and Naranjo. It is an excellent source, and tells all about ethnobotany, the science that may preserve human existence now, and in the future.

8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wowsers!, September 24, 2002

By	bored movie-goer (NYC) - See all my reviews

Great book for you plant nerds out there...a book edited by the late great Richard Schultes?...what more can you ask for?