Product Description

Product Description
A gift box of 20 cards with envelopes ... Read more

Product Description
The New Complete Book of Herbs, Spices, and Condiments offers a unique way of looking at seasonings. It presents them as individual health products, each complete with the same types of nutritional, chemical, and medical benefits and side effects found in any vitamin supplement, prescription drug, or over-the-counter product.

Presented in A-to-Z format, each entry includes:
Basic information about the plant
How it is used as flavoring
How it affects your body
Benefits and adverse effects of using the herb, spice, or condiment
How to use the herb, spice, or condiment properly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A comprehensive index enables quick and easy referencing
The New Complete Book Of Herbs, Spices, & Condiments: A Nutritional, Medical, And Culinary Guide presents a new, unique, and comprehensive way of approaching herbs and condiments as individual health products. Included is specific information for each plant or item. The "reader friendly" format is one of a guide presented alphabetically and all entries are completely up-to-date. Each entry includes basic information abut the plant or item including its origins and what parts are used as food or drink; a nutritional profile; how it is used as flavoring; how it affect the body (including benefits, adverse effects, and plant/drug interactions); how to use the plant in preparing food, around the house, in the garden, or as a home remedy; and significant, new information for women who are pregnant or nursing. The text is enhanced with extensive appendices listing plans and condiments used only in medicine, as well as those hazardous to health. A comprehensive index enables quick and easy referencing. The New Complete Book Of Herbs, Spices, & Condiments is an important and core addition to any alternative medicine, personal, family, or community library reference collection. ... Read more

Product Description
Suddenly herbs and how-to herbals are popular again. But while other books tend to rehash traditional uses of herbs and old wives' tales, this book reviews world-wide scientific literature on which herbs really work and how to use them safely. 7 photographs; 100 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great Book For Beginners
The title of the book and this review say it all folks.Worth a read.

Great introduction Herbs
This book is a great introduction to the effects of herbs on the body and to the your overall health.Mr. Castleman explains the ins and outs of herbs from thier history to their interations with medications.He even explains the use of herbs through out history stating that the Frankensence and Mur used by the wise men we to help with the prvention of desease in early age.

He goes over the major concerns when dealing with some herbs.The first is are they safe?He mentions that most herbs have been used for centuries with out harm to the body or with major side effects.In modern day, there is concern when herbs are mixed with drugs.

The other concern is how and where to get them.Remember that herbs come from all over the world, one needs to know how to get them and store them.

The final sections describes the 100 healing herbs where Mr. Castelman explains each herb, their side effects, drug interations and more.Definately helpful when you need to know about a particular herb.

As always, consult your health care professional when you decide to take an herb because of the drug interations with them.

I recomend this book for your library along with Dr. Whitaker's Guide to natural Healing (see my review), 8 Weeks to Optimal Health by Dr. Weil, The Doctors Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals, Earl Mandrell's Vitamin Bible (see my Review) as part of your health regimine.

THE BEST
I refer to this book as my "Bible of Herbal help".It is the greatest herbal reference book I have found.I bought it when it first came out and have used it on a regular basis ever since.

HALF DONE JOB BOOK.
THIS BOOK IS GARBAGE WHEN IT COMES TO THE HISTORY ABOUT THE HERBS AND MIKE CASTLEMAN STUDY'S ON HOW OLD THE VEDAS IS, IS INCORRECT. IT SEEMS THAT HE HAS TO STUDY MORE. HOW IA A PERSON GOING TO WRITE A BOOK WHEN HE GIVES YOU THE WRONG INFORMATION ON HOW OLD THE VEDAS IS COMMON 4500 YEARS OLD? IT'S MUCH OLDER THEN THAT. HE NEEDS TO STICK TO WHAT HE KNOWS, WHICH IS THE BIBLE.

awesome
I have had this book for a few years, and I use it extensively. Very informative. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring the many wonderful benefits of herbs into your life with this beautifully illustrated, accessible book on 88 herbs and their many purposes.

Starting with Aloe Vera, used as a soothing agent for over 2,000 years, and ending with Yarrow, whose leaves can be added to salad and which was once called “soldier’s woundwart” because of its efficacy on the battlefield, The Book of Herbs reveals the secrets of a wide range of plants that can really enhance your life.

Each page features color photographs of the plant itself in its many forms and is full of well-presented information on how to use it. There are sections covering each herb’s history, as well as its culinary uses, medical benefits (including special precautions), and household and cosmetic applications, such as:
· Borage leaves in a face pack help moisturize dry skin.
· Caraway seeds are a long-standing breath freshener.
· Catmint makes a cleansing hair wash.
· Lavender is a natural insect repellent, good to grow near the deck or porch.
· Nettle can help skin problems.
· Valerian can be used to help get rid of pests.

Chock full of useful information that can help make every part of life more natural and organic, The Book of Herbs is an indispensable and easy-to-use reference that’s a must for every home. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A pretty book
Pretty and well-designed but perhaps not the most useful for an American reader.The subtitle on the dust jacket says: An illustrated A-Z of the world's most popular culinary and medicinal plants.Indeed, some of the herbs are unknown to me, at least by the British names.Others common in the U.S. are missing.Where is marjoram?Notes on culinary uses are brief. ... Read more

Product Description
Soothe your nerves, cure your cough, color your fabrics, perfume your bath, stimulate your lover, spice your sauces, stop your nightmares, freshen your breath -- with herbs... The most complete catalog of nature's "miracle plants" ever published. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Superb Herbs
I purchased this, along with Back to Eden, because I had inadvertently donated my original copies.If you buy only one book to provide information on herbs, this is the book to obtain.You will be fascinated by the wealth of information it contains.

Not so Complete
This softcover book by John Lust is actually a short write up of herbs. It does not go into any detail about the chemical compounds of the herbs that determine their effectiveness. It's the Reader's Digest version. If that it what you want, then this book is for you. On the other hand, if you really want a comprehensive look at herbs, there are better books out there such as the ones by Rosemary Gladstar, David Hoffman, James Green that come to mind.

Everything you wanted to know and more
I bought this book in hard back many years ago.Its an aladins cave of info with cures, dyes, mineral content, vitamin content - you name it.I just bought this again for christmas presents this year - I hope the recipients get as much information and practical pleasure as I have over the years.

An absolute must for thse interested in herbs and their many properties and uses.

excellent resource
My book came creased at the binding (as if someone flipped through it already) and looking slightly used already with creased cover etc. I'm a bit disappointed because this is the first time I got something 'sold by amazon' that is not the quality it's suppose to be in (new). Also the price on the back of the book is $8.95... I paid $9.95. I'm not going to send it back despite all this because it's too much hassle, and I guess it would eventually get worn like this as I use it anyway. :(

Despite the disappointing quality it arrived in, this is a great reference book. To give you a general idea, here's a brief overview of the contents.

Part I consists of:
- an intro to plants and plant names
- a glossary of botanical terms
- brief section on growing or gathering an keeping herbs
- brief descriptions of how to use herbs (making tinctures, syrups etc.)
- a nice index of medicinal effects and herbs that give those effects
- herbs listed according to organs and body conditions.

Part II consists of the plants and descriptions along with nice simple line drawings.

Part III is a very nice touch. It covers some interesting topics such as:
- the legend and lore behind some of the plants
- scents
- dyes in plants (with a cool chart of what plants create what color to dye cloths, mostly wool)
- plants for drinking (herbal teas, juices, alcoholic beverages)
- a section on diet, briefly describing some key minerals and vitamins and what plants contain them
- natural cosmetics (geranium leaves for cleansing oily skin?)
- a few recipes
- plants and astrology
- other cool bits of info.
It feels almost like a farmer's almanac but with only plant related wisdom.

If your interested in herbs in any way, get this.

EVERYONE NEEDS THIS BOOK
Since everyone in the world is being affected by the negative information put out by the various medias, it is important to give people positive information.Because few people would make money advertising fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, nuts, legumes and whole grains, there is not the same tantalizing ads, on TV and the other medias, that junk foods have.I bought this book because I always have been concerned with the health of my son and his family because of their unhealthy eating habits.This book has so much positive information in it.I sent the book to them yesterday.Hopefully, they will take advantage of the massive amount of healthy and informative information in it.it's been around for many years because it is such a good book.It's a classic. ... Read more

Product Description
Successful entrepreneur Sandie Shores offers the only guide for starting an herb business that includes complete growing and harvesting information with savvy advice for starting and maintaining a profitable company. Profiles of other successful entrepreneurs are included.Amazon.com Review
Ready to turn your herb-gardening hobby into a business?Sandie Shores details the fundamentals of commercial herb growing in athorough, well-organized reference. Written from the vantage of theauthor's 14 years of experience in the business, the information ispractical and practicable. Profiles and anecdotes from othergrowers around the country are interspersed throughout the book.

The section on business basics starts with a thoughtful discourse onpersonal objectives and market research and continues with siteselection and a thorough list of potential customers, from restaurantsto distributors. The section on greenhouses for year-round growingincludes practical discussion on materials and construction, interiorlayout, and systems design, so there's no need to purchase a separategreenhouse reference. Further discussion of growing methods focuses onsustainability, and pest-management suggestions include preventativeawareness of life cycle and preferred environments. Handling andharvesting tips, uses, and specialized packaging advice are providedfor 14 different herbs, inclusive of the wide selection found in themajority of markets today. Lesser-known herbs are touched on, as areedible flowers. A list of resources and support publications concludesthe book.

The author takes the mystery out of this business,filling a near vacuum with this reference, but at the same timepresents the potential hazards and attention required. One caveat: theblack-and-white photos and sketches are generally useful, but onewishes for color pictures of the herbs themselves, given that part ofthe appeal of fresh herbs is the vibrant color and texture thatpromise romance to the nose and taste buds. --Molly McElroy ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

growing not selling
One chapter is on selling.All other chapters are on growing fresh cut herbs. Most herb growers fail because they do not market their product intensely enough. This book does not help in that regard. Just growing it won't get it sold.

A good start
It's obvious Sandie Shores put a lot of effort, time and heartfelt advice into this reference book, and it contains a lot of useful advice for the beginning grower.

I've been referring to this book for several years now; I have grown herbs for many years and built a greenhouse business around it. I would like to comment on a few shortcomings of this book, in hopes that those individuals choosing to go into the culinary herb growing field will refer to additional sources of information, rather than relying strictly on this one source.

- One major problem is Ms. Shores' lack of emphasis toward maintaining *healthy* plants to effectively prevent disease and pests to begin with. She instead talks only about how to deal with pests and diseases. The more I study disease and pest control, the more I find increased emphasis on maintaining healthy plants as the best defense. Growers are now becoming aware of techniques that increase brix in plants which is a natural pest fighter, and improving and restoring healthy soil conditions through organic practices, composting, and remineralization. I have found that by greatly increasing the plant's health I have been able to effectively fight disease and pests rather than resort to time-consuming and redundant spraying which only makes me feel like I'm sometimes fighting a losing battle.

- I have found contradictory or missing information compared to other resources. I had to discover through another reference that I was overwatering my bay laurel trees; there is no mention in her book that they require less water than other plants. In fact, there is no mention on how much water to give bay laurel at all.

- She says mint doesn't do well in containers--I have personally found that is the only way to grow them (otherwise they are too much work) and they do very well. Refer to "Bountiful Container" by McGee and Stuckey on how to successfully grow mint in containers.

- There is no mention of White Dalmatian Sage, the best sage for culinary use.

- Ms. Shores claims that French Tarragon must be allowed to go dormant in the winter. However, "Bountiful Container" describes a method where you can continue to grow it through the winter.

- Ms. Shores says oregano is a slow grower; McGee and Stuckey say it's a rapid grower. I think it depends on the growing environment, but it can be a rapid grower given the proper conditions.

- There is no mention of fusarium oxysporum under the basil section, an untreatable, devastating fungus that can potentially wipe out your entire sweet basil crop and persist in the soil for up to 12 years. I had to find a short description of it under the soil-borne diseases section. I feel this is such an important aspect to growing basil, a very popular culinary herb, that there should have been a lot more emphasis on becoming aware of and identifying this disease. Shane Smith's book, Greenhouse Gardeners Companion, says it's believed that fusarium oxysporum now infects most of the world's supply of basil seeds. He recommended buying fusarium-resistant (Nufar) seeds and named the sources where you can buy them.

- This book lacks a simplified reference to identifying plant problems. I tried looking up black spots on the basil leaves in this book but could not find any advice. Greenhouse Gardener's Companion has an excellent reference chart for looking up this kind of information.

- Very puzzling, at the time of writing this review, her recommended sources for packaging supplies listed in her appendix and her website did not carry the suggested items. I've found other very useful vendors on the web that provide the supplies I needed, like clamshell packages and plastic bags for delivery.

- Sometimes there was confusion whether she was talking about growing in the greenhouse versus field growing, or container growing versus bed growing.

- If you're just starting out and will seek outside funding for your new herb business, the most important step is creating a detailed business plan. Even though there is a chapter devoted to business planning, there's no specific, helpful guidance on how to develop one. And here's some practical advice I've discovered on my own that you also won't find in this book: if you don't have experience as a grower professionally for many years, you won't even be considered for a bank or SBA loan. Smart Money magazine confirmed this with an article of theirs--banks will fund only 2% of new businesses, SBA only 6%, while 50% of new businesses will buy capital expenditures through the use of personal credit cards.

I've stopped producing plants for cutting and instead grow herb and vegetable plants and container gardens to sell directly to the consumer. There is more satisfaction (and more money) in this, and when I discovered that wholesale distributors were selling basil in the middle of summertime for $5.50/lb, I knew I couldn't compete with those prices and pay myself a wage. Ms. Shores' book correctly states you will not get rich selling fresh cut herbs.

Ms. Shores does give excellent, useful advice on building and maintaining a greenhouse, and how to efficiently harvest herbs for packaging and selling.

Other fantastic growing references: "Bountiful Container," "The Green Thumb Garden Handbook," "Secrets to a Successful Greenhouse and Business," "Herbs in Pots," "Fresh Culinary Herb Production," "Basil: An Herb Lover's Guide," and ATTRA-dot-org on the web (sorry, Amazon won't let me put the URL in this review).

Excellent Manual
I gained a lot of insight from this book and have been marking pages and referring to it constantly.I even followed the pattern mentioned for building raised beds and it is working out great.I would have liked to see more about growing organically.

It is definitely a great source for growing your own herbs.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Herbs of the Earth is a simple-to-follow guide for beginners and a thorough reference for experienced herbalists. Mary Carse taught herbalism for over a quarter of a century, writing and rewriting this book as the text. It is arranged as "Lessons" with review questions, to promote full understanding of the subject material. Now available in its second edition, Herbs of the Earth is recognized by herbalists everywhere as a classic in its field, combining ancient wisdom with modern research. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Makes it easy to get started and is also a great reference!
This book is set up into lessons, one for each letter of the alphabet. It goes over the natural remedies for many illnesses and health issues, including item, recommended dosage and how to prepare it. When you're done with the lessons, you can use it as a huge alphabetical reference guide. This book packs a lot of information in an easy-to-use format.

Great introduction and reference guide
This guide works for both those new to studying herbs and those who would like a solid reference book. It is laid out in alphabetical lessons that can later serve as a quick reference index. The author actually goes beyond the herbs themselves to discuss illnesses and ailments that can be treated with natural remedies. The book makes it easy to get started studying a sometimes overwhelming topic!

Whether you know a little or a lot...
If you don't know a lot about herbal remedies, buy this book! That's what I did, and I learned more than I expected about finding, preparing and using herbs for healing. I thought I would just get an overview, but thebook is easy to understand, and the review questions are terrific formaking sure you retain what you've read! I was so impressed that I lent thebook to a friend who knows a lot about natural healing. She ended up buyinga copy for herself! I'm not kidding. It's really that good. ... Read more

Product Description
Whether you're out in the woods or in your backyard, this book, chock-full of drawings and information, will help you identify and collect more than 10 kinds of edible vegetation. Based on the six wild plant foraging rules-designed to protect your health and the environment-this guide will teach you not only how to find edible plants and herbs but also includes cooking tips and common pharmaceutical uses for them. Unlike traditional field guides that organize plants by season or flower color, this guide groups plants according to where you may find them-from bodies of water to yards, meadows, woodlands, mountains, plains, deserts, and coasts. With this updated guide, you'll discover how to identify and gather more than 100 of the most nutritious wild plans and useful herbs in the contiguous United States, prepare delicious recipes using your wild harvest, determine the identity of poisonous plants and poisonous look-alikes, and take charge of your personal health by making wild plants and herbs a part of your diet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

One of the most valuable books for wilderness survival and natural medicine
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The very most important feature ofJIMMEUNINCK's book,is that you don't have to scan through hundreds of pages of pictures and small print,to fine the most useful edible plants, and the plants most likely to be encoutered on an outing in the United States.


Many books of this type,have very tiny print, and cram as manypossible plant pictures and descriptionson one page as possible,so that they are so encyclopedic, that they are impractical to use.It is difficult to match a plant in the field,to the corresponding plant in the book. JIM MEUNINCK's book is different. There may be only 2 pictures to a page, and the descriptions are more extensive, and the useages of the plant is more extended still.The pictures areextremely clear and well printed, and the colors are genuine.

The book will neatly fit into a day pack.The book is only 87 pages long,has an index and some very important APPENDICES, which covers RECIPES,POISONOUS PLANTsandtheir"look-a-likes".

This is what the beginner needs. Something that will bridge the gap between books that are too big, and too complicated to use for IDENTIFYINGplants in the field.



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Excellent guide of over 100 common edible plants
I've used more comprehensive guides than this, but I've never seen so much valuable information together in just 66 pages.In my own experience foraging, I've used several other much larger guides, but I had to use several sources to find all the commonly found edible plants that I've seen hiking through Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.While other guides devote most of their pages to plants rarely seen, this little book is almost completely filled with edible plants you are likely to see on a short hike.It also gives recommended uses, preparations, and warnings. There is also a small section on commonly found poisonous plants. I have not seen the accompanying video. While I'd recommend reading more verbose guides as well, I've seen no other book that gives so much valuable information in so small of a space.

Author's Unabashed Review
This second edition has color photos.There are detailed recipes and identification tips.We cover Native American medicine, Chinese medicinal uses and modern pharmaceutical uses.The book is called the basicessentials because there are many edible wild plants out there that are notfit to eat!In this book I focused on plants worthy of your cookingefforts.

The book, unlike others, is organized by how you stumble acrosswild plants: geographic context.Or, more simply, they are organized inthe environment that they are found. Thus, plants in wet areas are treatedseparately from meadow plants. And plants of the forest have their uniquesection separate from the seashore and mountianous plants.Yes, we haveadded plants from the seashore and tidal zones as well as my favorites frommountainous areas...We didn't leave the sunbirds out either.There areseveral desert edible included.

There is a important section onpoisonous plants and poisonous look alikes.

There are more recipes,better recipes and lists of my top ten favorite wild plants and my top tenfavorite edible flowers.

With color photos and attention to plants thatare quality food (vitamin, mineral and phytochemical content) this newfield guide is a great value for under ten dollars.

Identify, collect, and eat over 100 plants in North America.
Identify, collect, and eat over 100 plants in North America. Find 35 wild plants growing in your back yard. Discover ancient pharmaceutical uses for common herbs. An appendix catalogs and indexes many poisonous and poisonous look-a-likes. ... Read more

Product Description
From one of America's most sensitive and fervent nature writers comes this classic of herbal lore and legend, new in paperback. This is not strictly a gardening book (although there is plenty for the gardener to learn in it), but a singular example of a man thinking about what he grows not only how it grows, but its roots in religion, the Bible, history and medicine. The book was written at Chimney Farm, the Maine homestead immortalized in Northern Farmto which he repaired in 1931 with his wife Elizabeth Coatsworth, and where he died in 1968.

Beston described his efforts as "part garden book, part musing study of our relation to nature through the oldest group of plants known to gardeners." But, as Roger Swain observes in his moving introduction, "Herbs and the Earth has an intensity that evokes the herbs themselves, as if, pressed between the pages, their aroma has seeped into the pages." The book is lovingly illustrated with the woodcuts of the great American stone cutter/letter designer/craftsman John Howard Benson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Herbalist's Bible
Until you have read Herbs and the Earth by Henry Beston, you know half of what the Earth knows of magic, fine gardening and great literature. I have read most of the writers from Findhorn and Perelandra, as well as Emerson, Thoreau, Steiner and the rest; I find here a more authentic connection with the earth from one of the most eloquent translators of her many voices.You will find much love and lore in this book. Beston's depth and devotion will amaze and delight you. I consider this the herbalist's bible, if only they knew it! ... Read more

Product Description
With a range of over 700 species shown in 1,500 photographs, this guide gives information on each plant's chief characteristics and its principal herbal uses, from cookery to medicine, and beauty treatment to arts and crafts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Smithsonian Handbooks: Herbs
Great book to buy and use.Nicely color pictures of herbs that makes them really easy to identify in the wild. Also much information on the herbs themselves and what they are good for. Would recommend this book to anyone who is serious in doing herbs themselves or for future preparedness.

awesome identification guide
there is a ton of info in this little book.i like its size for hiking and its harder cover so it takes a beating.

good addition to library...
Got this for my wife as an added addition to her gardening library. She loves it. Excellently done with accurate illustrations...

Smithsonian Handbooks:Herbs
Beautiful condition of a wonderful book.This book has everything you should know about Herbs.It will be a gift and I am sure that the person will enjoy it.Thanks a lot

Very informative
This is a great book, very informative but simple and quick to read. Has real pictures which make it so much easier to identify the herbs and sums up the plant and its properites too. ... Read more

Product Description
One of America's foremost herbalists provides concise, simple-to-understand, and practical information for using herbs for health and well-being. Each book contains profiles of specific herbs, cautions, contraindications, and easy-to-make recipes to relieve common ailments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent....However....
This is an excellent resource book. Rosemary gives you natural remedies to common ailments that we all suffer from. Her books are easy to read and comprehend and a valuable addition to any herbal library. I can't say enough good things about her books: she gives you recipies to follow, ways to prepare herbal concoctions in various forms using a variety of bases and her writing is very down to earth.

Here is the however: This book and a few of her others are completely included in her book "Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal". The "Family Herbal" includes: Taming Stress & Anxiety, Home Remedies for Everyday Ailments, Recipes for Radiant Beauty, For Children, For Women, For Men and also For Elders and even more information then that - including information on how to prepare herbs, An A - Z Herbal Apothecary, etc...

The only book, where the topic is also touched on in "The Family Herbal", I would purchase aside from "The Family Herbal" is "Herbal Healing For Women" and any of her other books whose titles aren't included in "The Family Herbal"

Excellent skincare recipes
I use her recipe for cleansing grains every day.It's the only thing I've found that cleans my super dry skin without leaving it drier.Also used her directions to henna my hair for the first time.I order her products as well and they are all wonderful.

Good information
I appreciate books like this that are relatively inexpensive and good
to have on hand to give the best of the best and the most useful of
the useful.Gladstars book explains those basic herbs that we should
have around the house all of the time... Buy this book to see what you
need to keep stocked in your medicine closet.

Herbs to always have on hand.
Rosemary Gladstar truly knows her subject matter.She has perfected the way to individualize health concerns and write detailingthe herbaltreatments for that area.In this book, however she has given us the mostimportant and the most "universal" (in terms of their diverseuses) herbs that we should always have on hand.I don't think it was anaccident that her name is Rosemary.Good work Ms. Gladstar. ... Read more

Product Description
This guide is the most complete work ever written on the medicinal plants of western North America. It offers the best information in the world on the current popular and traditional uses of the nearly 500 species covered, much of it available for the first time. More than 530 color photographs illustrate the plants and their flowers, leaves, and fruits. The descriptive text combines scientific, ethnobotanical, and cross-cultural information, making this field guide unique. An index to medical topics is helpful for quickly locating information on specific ailments. Symbols next to the plant descriptions provide quick visual warnings for poisonous and allergenic plants. Organized by flower color for fast identification, this guide is an essential aid to appreciating native plants and the wild areas they inhabit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

wheres my order ?
i ordered the book 2 times 2 different suppliers and still havent received the book as of 8 19 09. 1.5 months come on is this something you would recommend to anyone?

Most Excellent Field Guide on Western Medicinals
I love this book! I'm a Clinical Herbalism student and this book is excellent for my herbal education here in western Oregon. I took it on trips to Detroit and Suttle Lakes last summer and was able to crete my own photo journals thanks to this book and my digital camera. Pipsissewa is even more beautiful in real life!

I like it, but....
I struggled with what star classification to give this book. On one hand, I find it very informational. On the other hand, I have a hard time figuring out what plants I am looking at. Apparently you need to have some deeper knowledge of plants before using this book, which I don't have. So I find it difficult to use when I am in the field. I don't even bring it along with me anymore, and sometimes resort to take pictures of the plants and then see if I can find them in the book later. So I find the book to be very much a mixed bag.

All Too Disappointing
I am a layman who is looking for a guide to herbs that would help me identify herbs in the wild. My expectation was that the photographs in
A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs would be fantastic and would help me ID plants in the wild with confidence. I was not pleased at all.

The photographs in this book are thumbnail size and often show only the flowers of the plants in question. The book itself is of a tiny size and affords little space to have "real" close-up photographs of leaves and overall look of the plant in-situ.

I would contrast this "Reader's Digest" version of a book made to identify plants in the wild with Roger Phillips' Mushrooms And Other American Fungi Of North America. This book is a full 11 3/4" X 8 3/4" and has photographs that fill a whole page, in some cases. I think it is fair to say that every photograph in Roger's book is larger than ANY picture in A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, whose photographs are attributed Stephen Foster. A quick view of Foster's web site shows similar "thumbnail" sized photographs. I am greatly disappointed!

The text contained within A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs pales in comparison with what can be found on line.

I am hoping RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses gives a better view and history of the plants.

In closing, I would say this book should be the last on your list - not the first!

Botany contribution.
Peterson's Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs is a contribution to botany and field identification. This guide includes medicinal species, potentially dangerous ones, and plants with true healing powers. There is a description of range, habitat, medicinal uses, and a toxicity warning beside the species listing. Hundreds of species are covered, making a classic guide, one that deserves to revolutionize the botanical field guide section. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines the mythology of herbs, the history of their use, their culinary, cosmetic, and medicinal value, and the lives of several herbalists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another good book by Sybil
This is another good book by Sybil. If you get the chance, pick this up too, although, out of print, this book has a lot of details that she explains and a lot of folklore to go with it too. Great book..highyly recommended !

wonderful classic reference
Perhaps the most acclaimed (and sought after) book on herbs ever published. The book examines the history and uses (common and unique) of herbs in cosmetics, culinary, medicinal value, and more. It also covers the history of some noted herbalists. I have treasured this reference work for many, many years. ... Read more