Herbal Vade Mecum: 800 Herbs, Spices, Essential Oils, Lipids, Etc.-Constituents, Properties, Uses, and Caution

Rating:
Summary: Editor, Medical Herbalism journal
Review: An excellent quick reference for the professional herbalist. It is in the same niche as other quick reference books such as Potter's Encylcopedia or Lust's Herb book, but far superior to either, because 1) it has many more herbs 2) it has up-to-date and accurate details on plant chemistry 3) the author has mined the wealth of herbal literature in German, Italian, and French 4) it contains reasoned judgements on safety considerations lacking in the other books in its class, and 5) it accurately describes the most important actions and most important uses, in a well thought-out section, instead of giving long lists of theoretical or minor actions. I'll be using this as a textbook for my intermediate-level students at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism. --- Paul Bergner, Editor, Medical Herbalism journal

Rating:
Summary: Very useful for practitioners
Review: The Herbal Vade Mecum is a very good materia medica for the practising herbalist. Uses are given, dosages aren't, so you need to know your plants before you use this book.
Beginners might not do all that much with it, except for the teensy little fact that they'd get solid practical sensible cautions for the listed plants instead of the usual overly theoretical overcautious ones.
Were I a beginner, I'd buy it for that alone. No pictures, but then there are lots of picture books out there.

Rating:
Summary: A Library Necessity...
Review: This highly informative, attractively priced reference packs tons of information in a well-written, accurately designed collection of herbal information book. Reccommended for botanists, pharmocognicists and horticulturists (to mention a few), this book rivals industry 'greats' such as 'Tropica' and 'Exotica' (which run hundreds of dollars) AND has a much more digestible price. The design of the book makes it easy to use at your desktop or in the field. Bravo Mr. Skenderi! Someone finally got it right!