Herbal Remedies Visual Reference Guides by Andrew Chevallier
Metro Books New York (Sterling Publishing Co. Imprint) 2010
Andrew Chevallier has been in practice as a medical herbalist since 1986. Over the years, he has treated people suffering from health problems of many kinds - from minor skin conditions to severe debilitating illness. He worked for 5 years in an NHS-funded complementary health clinic offering free treatment to over-55s in east London. Andrew has written a range of books on herbal medicine, notably the Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine now in its 3rd edition, which has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide and been translated into 8 different languages.
I haven't read the other books he has written, but I do have this copy Herbal Remedies Visual Reference Guide. In the colder months, I love to have stacks of books surrounding my chair so that I have something to read or look at on those cloudy dark days. My favorites are good long mysteries, or cookbooks with lots of color photos. And the best? Gardening books with lovely color pictures. This book is the latter. And I'll tell ya, if this is the year you want to learn about medicinal herbs (and not just learn about them, but study them and see the pictures of them so that you can identify them), this will fit the bill.
The book is broken down into five sections; what is herbal medicine, using herbal remedies, safety and quality, a-z of herbal remedies and common health problems. I loved the a-z section which contained more than 140 key plants. It is a wonderful guide to healing herbs. It gives the background of the plant, medicinal uses, safety and dosage information, as well as detailed pictures of the plant. I had never seen what a cinnamon tree actually looked like before and was able to see the tree as well as the leaves. It was nice too that recommended dosages later in the book also included ounces as well as grams. It is a very interesting book, more like a treasure trove and one that is easily used to help deepen your understanding of the healing plants around us.
You might want to purchase this book as a gift for the herb-lover on your list...and yourself as well! If anything, it will help you get through the winter looking at all the lovely illustrations. Although it is out of print, you can get copies of this book on Amazon. It is definitely worth a look. Herbalist Andrew Chevallier's website also sells copies of his book on his website with Amazon links: Andrew Chevallier - Herbal Medicine Books & Norfolk Herb Walks
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