From: nancyr@cc.usu.edu (Nancy Roberts)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: List of Herbals for Beginners 
Date: 23 Jul 94 15:12:36 MDT

The following list of Herbals is quoted without permission from "The
Herbalist" column of the "Vegetarian Times" magazine, the column being
written by Mark Blumenthal.  All errors in typing are mine.

"Whether your budding interest in herbs is culinary, medicinal,
historical or horticultural, one or more of the following books -- by
no means an exhaustive list--will help get you started"

"The Complete Medicinal Herbal" by Penelope Ody (Dorling Kindersley,
1993)...contains full color photos of almost 100 herbs, 250 herbal
home remedies, etc.

"A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants:  Eastern and Central North 
America" by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (Houghton Mifflin, 1990)
..."some of the best herbal writing around.  Intended for the
layperson, this book...identifies more than 500 medicinal plants....
color photos of more than 200 plants...line drawings....extensive
safety information."

"Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the West" by Steven
Foster and Yue Chongxi (Healing Arts Press, 1992).  "...includes
both traditional and modern medicinal uses of Chinese herbs,
as well as Chinese garden flowers, ornamental shrubs, trees
and weeds....only book I [sic] know of that offers information
on growing all these plants....members of author Yue's family
have been Chinese herbal pharmacists for more than 400 years."

"Herbal Medicine" by Rudolf Fritz Weiss (Beaconsfield Publishers, 
1985).  "...sixth edition of this famous classic and the first time it
has been published in English.  Not truly a beginners book....important
scientific resource....[physical symptom index]...a must for anyone
interested in accurate, authoritative advice on the clinical uses of 
medicinal plants."

"Herbal Renaissance" by Steven Foster (Gibbs Smith, 1994)  "...revision
of Foster's Herbal Bounty is a truly beautiful book...line drawings 
and color photos...focuses on how to grow herbs...includes culinary tips,
traditional medicinal wisdom...extensive bibliography."

"The Honest Herbal:  A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and 
Related Remedies" by Varro E. Tyler (Hawthorn Press, 1993).  
"...third edition of the rather controversial book....some herbalists
consider [it] a bit conservative with a negative view of some herbs
efficacy; the reader should keep in mind, however, that the author is
concerned with scientific verification of an herb's activity, not just
folkloric evidence and historical usage."

"The Healing Herbs:  The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of
Nature's Medicines" by Michael Castleman (Rodale Press, 1991).
"...one of the best introductions to scientific research on 100
healing herbs...excellent book for starting an herbal education....
includes historical, safety and usage information."

"A Modern Herbal" by M. Grieve (Dover Publications, 1971)  
"Grieve...wrote the book in 1931....includes a wealth of European
and classic Greco-Roman lore on hundreds of popular and esoteric 
medicinal plants....includes nomenclature, parts used, geographical
habitat, physical description, chemical contents, medicinal uses,
and preparations and dosages."

"The New Holistic Herbal" by David Hoffman (Element Books, 1993)
"This book offers and Earth-centered approach in which reverence
to Gaia...and the interconnectedness of all living beings pervades
almost every page....arranged by herb and covers almost 200 of them."

"The Yoga of Herbs:  An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine" by Vasant 
Lad and David Frawley (Lotus Light, 1990)  "..Eastern art: ayurveda, the
traditional mind-body healing system of India...thorough introduction
to ayurveda as well as a guide to commonly known herbs, esoteric foods
and everyday spices that have a wide variety of tonic and preventative
uses in India."

Honorable Mentions:  "The Herb Book" by John Lust (Bantam, 1983),
"Planetary Herbology" by Michael Tierra (Lotus Light, 1988), and 
"New Age Herbalist:  How to use Herbs for Healing, Nutrition, Body
Care and Relaxations" by Richard Mabey and Michael McIntyre (MacMillan,
1988).

"...the American Herbalists Guild has compiled a recommended reading 
list based on a survey of 40 herbalists from across the United States.l
The list steers away from books associated with commercial herb ventures
and divides books into sections...also notes the level of sophistication
...of each title.  To receive the list, send $2 to the American Herbalists
Guild, P.O. Box 1683, Soquel, CA 95073.

Nancy