Between Heaven and Earth

Rating:
Summary: For the Informed consumer
Review: This book has been a valuable resource to me as a person seeking healing through various alternative medicines. While I found Chinese Medicine helpful I didn't understand why, and I now feel as though I can take an active roll in discussions with my provider about various treatments. I do not have a long attention span when it comes to dry manuals, but this book was written to be understood and will hold your interest. The only part of the book I found lacking was the index. As I tried to put together a 'treatment plan' for myself, I had difficulty finding specific topics/herbs again.

Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and Deep
Review: This book only rates a 3 with me. While some of the information is good, I must agree with an earlier reviewer that the extreme focus on the five elements is over-done to the detrement of other topics. It is taken to such an extreme that the authors try to blend it with western 'new-age' thinking and creating "elemental personality types". Thereby, segmenting the mind from the body which they themselves state in earlier chapters is contrary to the TCM thought process. So again, 3 stars as I felt only half the book was worth wild.

Rating:
Summary: Only half a book
Review: This book only rates a 3 with me. While some of the information is good, I must agree with an earlier reviewer that the extreme focus on the five elements is over-done to the detrement of other topics. It is taken to such an extreme that the authors try to blend it with western 'new-age' thinking and creating "elemental personality types". Thereby, segmenting the mind from the body which they themselves state in earlier chapters is contrary to the TCM thought process. So again, 3 stars as I felt only half the book was worth wild.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is an excellent book for the person beginning to learn about chinese medicine. Very informative and easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: A Clear Presentation
Review: This is the most involved and lucid explanation of the Five Phases that I have found. I refer many of my patients to this book when they come for their initial session. It has numerous drawings, charts and graphs to support the written text. The Five Phase Theory, as presented in this book, can assist practicing acupunturists or students of Oriental Medicine in deepening their understanding of how to successfully handle the myriad problems and dis-eases presented by their patients. In my 25 years of practice I found extremely few books so well written and organized for everyday use and review.

Rating:
Summary: A high quality book
Review: Wether or not the book perfectly matches what you are looking for, you are getting quality for your money.

Rating:
Summary: Five stars for this seminal book on acupuncture
Review: What a great book...If I had to be marooned on a desert island, etc., etc., with just one book on acupuncture, helpful for understanding the human condition, this would be the book, and there isn't even a close second that comes to mind. The authors were **the** people who brought an understanding of Chinese medicine to the U.S. in the 1970s, and this book is a heroic attempt to educate us and interest us at the same time with what they had found. It's hard to tell whether they're classic five element practitioners (I've heard differing points of view on this) but they do a FABULOUS job on breaking down what's involved with that unique, and very hard to find out about, form of acupuncture. Although practitioners will say that they can only figure out your type from actually diagnosing you in person, I found that when I put my husband and me through the written "tests" in the book, very comprehensive, we actually came out ahead: and figured out "what" we were, 1.5 years ahead of the acupuncturist so doing. That gave me even more confidence in the book. Not to mention, reading and thinking about what the test revealed about us HUGELY promoted our understanding of ourselves and each other, and made for a fun adjunct to a vacation weekend. This is a great book, and I find myself referring to it again and again, though I've also read--and own--many of the other now classic books in the field. Simple enough for a lay reader, but definitely able to communicate the elegance of the practice. Go authors! :-)