| View Larger Image | Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine (National Geographic) | Hardcoverby National Geographic Society (Author)
| List Price: | $40.00 | | Price: | $26.40 | | You Save: | $13.60 (34%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | National Geographic | | Page Count: | 416 Pages | | Publication Date: | April 18, 2006 | | Sales Rank: | 189,366th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
For millennia, humans have looked to nature for remedies to ailments great and small. Long before formal science enabled us to take a systematic approach to medicine, healers used plants to alleviate pain, ease the symptoms of dozens of diseases, and treat complaints of every kind. And today, countless people still use medicinal plants, whether in traditional roles or as building blocks for new research and innovative drugs. Featuring 350 full-color photographs, botanical drawings, and maps, this accessible, fact-filled book is based on the work of renowned botanical experts and presents alphabetically arranged, beautifully illustrated entries for hundreds of plants touted for millennia to soothe, even heal. Each is clearly described, with full details of its physical appearance and medicinal uses; its origins and geographic distribution, how it's harvested and used in conventional and alternative medicine, a range map; and more. It's also a fascinating medical chronicle filled with informative sidebars on everything from ancient folklore to the latest research. Readers learn how aspirin evolved from a concoction of willow bark to the familiar white pill of today, how the foxglove's flowery beauty contributes to the potent heart drug digitalis, and how many other now common treatments have deep historical and cultural roots. It's a journey that starts many centuries ago in remote places like the Amazon rain forest, where shamans practiced their powerful curative magic of plants, and leads to the high-tech pharmaceutical labs of today's scientists working to discover new plant-based drugs that can be used effectively to treat diseases major and minor alike, from cancer to the common cold. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 6 reviews)
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BEAUTIFUL BOOK!!! by Linda P. (USA)  5 Stars
December 01, 2008
I use a lot of medicinal herbs and also make herbal mixtures, and this book is fantastic! Gorgeous photos and complete descriptiosn of herbs and their properties. Anyone interested in medicinal herbs will love this book! Anyone who loves plants will love this book! Highly recommend it!
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Good information by I. Tauber  4 Stars
June 27, 2008
Very detailed information about most herbs, I wish there were more in there, but the ones they do list are very detailed in their descriptions.
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Nature's Medicine by Sammanthad 5 Stars
August 18, 2006
This book is beautiful It has full color pictures. It also has lots of information. Maps and locations on where the plants are usally found. It is a thick hard cover book. A great addtion to anyones library. Great for gardening, medicine or science.
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Most Comprehensive Single Book Herbal I've Seen by D. Adams (NC, USA) 5 Stars
June 21, 2006
I wholeheartedly agree with the other reviewers that this is a 5-star book and an important volume to include in your herbal library - or if you are looking for ONE herbal book, this is it.
Each entry has information on the history and lore of not only the herb, but even its name; where and how it grows, how to cultivate (that information is often left out of other books, which just tell you what part of the plant to use, now HOW to use them), and any supporting scientific evidence (or lack thereof).
The sections on geographic locations worldwide and their indiginous plants and cultural contributions to herbalism are unlike anything in any other herbal book I've seen. I could not put this one down, I turned each page with the same enthusiasm I'd have had for a suspense thriller, and this is a reference book, not something that would normally garner excited responses like that. Don't pass this one up!
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Over 200 color photos, 150 botanical drawings and over 150 maps by Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) 5 Stars
June 20, 2006
There are so many herbal books on the market today that one could wonder about the need for yet another, even with the National Geographic branding attached to it promising quality - but DESK REFERENCE TO NATURE'S MEDICINE offers something different. It's put together not by a single person but by leading experts in the herbal medicine field, it packs in over 200 color photos, 150 botanical drawings and over 150 maps, and its alphabetical arrangement of therapeutical plants covers not just physical appearance and medicinal properties but geographic distribution, how it's harvested in used, and more. Nine essays provide an overview to world healing traditions while handy sidebars of detail pack in the history and cultural insights, making for a practical manual which is also a superb history.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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