Homeopathy Books

I already knew most of the remedies in this book, however I did learn a few new things.

The item purchased arrived on time and in great shape. Item was as described. My experience with this seller was excellent therefore I would purchase from this seller again in the future.

This product was on a wish list for Christmas. Must be good if they picked it!

This is an excellent resource, full of practical tips for dealing with a large variety of health issues. I have at least 2 shelves full of health & medical advice books, some quite gigantic. But THIS is the book I always reach for when dealing with health problems. It gets right to the point & offers a list of things you can do to deal with each problem. (I just bought an updated one for me & another copy for a friend so that I don't have to keep reading her mine over the phone while she takes notes.)

If you scan over the common sense advice, there are some very helpful ideas for every condition or problem that you might have. It's worth a glace or buy if you see it in a used bookstore.

EXCELLENT book/guide for taking care-homeopathic care-of children. A homeopathic doctor wrote it in simple, easy reading. I have been using it, with my daughters permission, for my 2 yr old grandson and 4 month old granddaughter and they are the healthiest children.

They only go to the pediatrician for their wellness checkups...otherwise they are never there; whereas my son's partner won't use homeopathic remedies because she does want to "drug" her kids, and they are at their doctor at least once a week, sometimes more - mostly for colds and infections. In their short life (they're twins, 2 yrs) they have had more drugs than even some adults!

THIS BOOK IS A MUST for every family seeking a gentler medicine to give their kid's when they do get ill.

This is a very good guide for all the parents! It is easy to use due to the alphabetical list of sicnesses and symptoms and has clear descriptions of remedies that could be used to treat the symptoms. In the beginning of the book it simply describes the basics about homeopathy.

I previously gave this book a low review because I got ahead of myself and skipped the first several chapters. Big mistake! After reading the book from the beginning, I realized what I was missing. In the past two years that I have owned this book, it has been indispensable in treating both my toddler and myself. My son has had little recurrence of chronic illnesses, and we rarely have to treat him with modern prescription medicine. This book is an invaluable resource for any parent!

This is a good reference book. When my child is ill I look in this book as well as several others to try to get a picture of an appropriate remedy. Because homeopathy is somewhat complex I think it is better to consult several reference books to gain a good picture of the illness. This book is catagorized by illness ie. common cold, cough,fever etc., which makes it easy to pinpoint the section I am interested in to get an idea of appropriate remedies. It also has a section in back with a more complete picture of many of the remedies mentioned.

I have been using homeopathy since 1993 with great success, due in large part to this book. It is well organized and very user friendly. I would highly recommend this book to anyone just starting out, or curious about homeopathy. I loaned mine to a friend recently and I miss it more than I expected! I also own "The Complete Homeopathy Handbook: Safe and Effective Ways to Treat Fevers, Coughs, Colds and Sore Throats, Childhood Ailments, Food Poisoning, Flu, and a Wide Range of Everyday Complaints" and I think it is a nice complement, but I find that I use Dana Ullman's book with greater regularity. Actually, I've used it so often that I've memorized much of it and now I pull it off the shelf to "double check" myself.

As a graduate of a four year homeopathic post graduate school I can tell you no other book is more often reread by the well trained homeopath than the Organon of Medicine by homeopathy's founder and furturistic thinker: Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. MANY are the translations I have struggled through. Organon of the Medical Arts is THE translation to place between your hands in order to practice classical homeopathy as it was intended. This book is so well translated from German, so thorough, so DIGESTABLE that there is much to apply with much less struggle to Understand.
Every serious student of homeopathy and every practioner will come to own this translation. Every mind, healthy enough to be Open will too!

Like many, I've read The Organon before, but usually came away from each aphorism with some befuddlement. The Decker translation, with Dr. O'Reilly's editing and annotations, really opens the door for me to a deeper understanding of Hahnemann and homeopathy itself. The introduction, notes, glosses, and other aids make this the best English version, in my opinion. As Dr. Hahnemann was reported to have said, this book should be read twice a year for the first fifty years, and then once annually thereafter!

I've had numerous health problems over the years that are somewhat off the beaten track, and as a result I ran across a practitioner of Heilkunst. This is their clinical bible. When I found this practitioner unwilling to reveal exactly what it was they were supplying in the way of a remedy, unlike other practitioners of natural medicine who will tell you what supplements to take and what you are doing wrong, I got this book and decided to see what was going on. After going through it, I am glad I decided not to pursue this form of treatment.

The book is interesting from a historical perspective. The real author of the contents of the Organon, Samuel Hahnemann, had some real points of contention with traditional (allopathic) medicine as it was practiced in 1800, and rightly so. Medicine was more likely to harm you than help you as the germ theory of infectious disease had not even yet developed. Hospitals were a place of supervised death rather than a place where scientifically proven diagnostic methods were used to determine treatments and actually cure people. Hahnemann's resulting methods look very odd today in the face of much improved scientific knowledge, but in 1800 they made as much sense as what traditional doctors were doing. Probably the most interesting of Hahnemann's theories is that on the miasm. Hahnemann believed, and taught in this book that there are three "miasms" that are the cause of disease in all people and thus must be rooted out to make an ill person well.

In the last one hundred years, science has caused great strides in modern medicine, and doctors can now adequately explain and treat diseases in ways that were impossible with the crude information and techniques available before. Thus, there was a oorresponding decline in th popularity of the homeopathic method. Homeopathy still exists, though, and probably always will in some form, because Hahnemann's approach requires the practitioner to get close to the patient, to listen to him/her, and to design custom mysterious "remedies". This warm friendly approach to healing seems appealing, especially if you have an oddball combination of symptoms that can't be solved in 10 minutes by an HMO physician who pretends to listen to you as he/she scribbles out a prescription and hastily goes on to the next patient. Even if the homeopathic practitioner can't fix you, at least they listen! Thus, I enjoyed reading this book to see what state medical science was in 200 years ago, but I see no scientific method worthy of giving the methods described in this book a try if you want reliable, real results.

After years of struggling with other translations of the Organon finally one that is a pleasure to read! The ability of Mr Decker to illuminate Hahnemann's brilliance is genius in and of itself! Thank you Wenda Brewster O'Reilly....Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

The Organon is essentially the "bible" of homeopathy. Although it was written nearly 200 years ago, it still defines what homeopathy is and what homeopathic practice is all about. That's why the Organon is required reading for all serious students of homeopathy, and most practitioners refer to it on a regular basis as well.

O'Reilly's translation of the Organon is the best and most accessible of them all. It brings the book to life! All of the older translations have pretty much been relegated to the backburner since this one came out. If you are seriously interested in homeopathy, this book is a must-have. I refer to it on a regular basis in my own work.

Great resource material for the extended family. Very comprehensive guide for anything that you can think of...Nice and easy to use.

The is one of the best books for anyone wishing to understand and begin using homeopathy. It is well arranged for ease of use. I use this book in my practice and frequently suggest it's use to my clients.

One word of caution, the typeface is small and not pleasing to the eye. I returned the book because it was difficult to read.

working as a homeopathic physician,mostly dealing with"clinical homeopathy", I have found many "pearls" in this book.
one of them is the specific remedy for "bartholinitis".
in two cases i could prevent within days surgical intervention.
recently i tried the same remedy, bar. carb.,on a condition where few specialists know what to do with ["vestibulitis"] and saw a rapid healing,after trial of all kind of other treatments in vain.
every homeopath has his special experiences.
dr. locky seems to be "luckey" in the choise of his remedies.

this is the only book to have for an immature homeopath. but, it is very disorganized. it is very difficult to find a specific ailment in this book. sometimes you have to read a chapter or two to find what you are looking for. also, Dr. Lockie in this book talks about many ailments that he does not suggests any remedies for. it just feels like waisting my time to finally find it, read a page on the ailment, and not even get any use from it. the only great thing that i find about this book, is that it shows you how to pick the right medicine without guesswork and abra-cadabra that i found so many homeopaths use.

This is great for parents who want to use Homeopathy at home for those everyday minor health issues. It's easy to read and easy to use!

I am also a mother of two and find this book very helpful. I refer to it again and again.

I've used homeopathic medicines from the health food store and pharmacy on occasion. A friend who has studied homeopathy recommended this book to me so that I would be better informed on the subject. The book is so easy to read and refer to. It gives the average person a basic grasp on the subject of homeopathy and makes it simple to treat run of the mill conditions without calling the doctor for every little sympton that pops up. Ofcourse, one has to use common sense and realize when a condition needs proffesional medical attention. I have given this book to friends and family and am in the process of buying another copy. It's an excellent family reference.

As the mother of two small children, I find this book quite helpful. It is a general overview of homeopathy and provides enough detail that I can handle common problems on my own. It includes sections on the following subjects:
1. What is homeopathy?
2. A homeopathic physician at work
3. Your homeopathic remedy kid
4. What to do for accidents
5. In case of emergency
6. How to prevent and treat colds, coughs and earaches
7. Remedies for stomach and bowel problems
8. A happier baby with homeopathic care
9. Your growing child
10. What homeopathy can do for women
11. Keeping your pets healthy

The appendixes include the following:
* Remedies and their abbreviations
* Mini-repertory
* Materia Medica
* Pharmacies carry homeopathic remedies (this section is somewhat out of date as it does not list any online sources)

Chapter 8, with its section on on teething and the remedy chamomilla alone is worth the price of the book. I was first introduced to homeopathy when my first born was teething. He had been crying and sleeping only for brief periods for days. I gave him a dose of a remedy containing chamomilla, and he immediately stopped crying and fell asleep. I was amazed!

I also frequently refer to chapter 6 during cold season. The section on croup is quite good, explaining when to use each of the most commonly needed remedies.

One thing I didn't like about the book is how she talks about the same subject more than once, for instance fever in 3 different chapters. In one chapter she gives the remedies for a fever and in another chapter she says just to let it run unless it gets to 105 degrees Fahrenheit or more, and if that is the case, call your doctor. Treating fevers is controversial, I admit. It is definitely the body's attempt to kill the virus. But when my baby is crying and inconsolable because of a fever, I give him the herb catnip, and he feels better within minutes.

But overall, it is an easy to understand book for those of us who want to be able to treat our children ourselves with homeopathic remedies. It's a book I always want to have at home.

I was introduced to this book by a doctor friend of mine who actually went to the author as a patient years ago. Great reference book, easy layout, and good explanation of homeopathic remedies for beginners and those experienced. Goes great with Hyland and Boiron brand for my family. Hope this helps!

This book helps you become and stay healthy, rather than suppress symptoms with pills. Not that I have anything against traditional medicine-it's done us some major favors. But it's better to be truly healthy than to suppress signs of ill health, and this is a fabulous book in helping to achieve that. Well worth the cash.

New Choices in Natural Healing takes several areas of natural health care and incorporates it by condition. As an example, if you were to turn - alphabetically, of course - to Arthritis, you'd read a short paragraph describing the ailemtn, then a paragraph or two under Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Ayurveda, Flower Remedy, Food Therapy, Homeopathy, Hydrotherapy, Imagery, Juice Therapy, Massage, Reflexology, Relaxation and Meditation, Vitamin and Mineral Therapy, and -finally- yoga.

If you know much on herbs, you'd get frustrated seeing the cautious and very generic recommendations, and the same goes for some other areas. However, to have this much information on such a wide variety in one book is invaluable, an excellent idea and, even if not done completely up to par, worth owning. The authors act more as journalists in a way, objectively describing what the experts in each field would recommend for each condition, not taking an active stance much. The objective authors of course follow it up with ask your doctor and generic advice, but the book they've put together has served its use well enough.

The end section is great, as it's filled with illustrations on acupressure points, massages, reflexology jargon and charts, a few relaxation stretches, yoga illustrations (good amount of these). This section alone brought the book up another star - I'm a visual learner, and the diagrams can assist many people. Great segment!

The beginning is well-done, also, telling about each area of natural healing with background details and such. Having a book at your fingertips that will point you in the right direction for a variety of natural techniques is priceless. In order to learn this much about each would involve buying multiple books about seperate healing techniques - a book such as this saves mucho on the wallet, makes general browsing a breeze, and cuts your time in half. Not perfect in some areas, but certainly worth picking up!

This book has natural remedies for minor ailments (it specifically mentions that if symptoms are severe or persist over an extended period of time you should see a doctor). I have found it very helpful (I figured in the least it can't hurt me). This book is split into 3 parts.

Part I: This part contains an overview of what natural healing is and then gives descriptions of various methods used in natural healing (ex. acupressure, aromatherapy, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, yoga).

Part II: This book lists many ailments in alphabetical order. It is easy to look them up because they are written as an encyclopedia style reference. Some problems included are: acre, bad breath, colds, heartburn, jet lag, rashes, and warts. This part also includes illustrations of things such as massage and acupressure so that it is easy to lacate the areas yourself.

Part III: This part lists various resources in case the reader is interested in looking up more information or some organizations that deal with natural healing.

I would recomend this book for anyone who doesn't know much about natural healing but likes to try and heal themselves before seeing a medical doctor.

I've been reading a lot of "natural remedy" or "folk remedy" books lately. I checked this one out from my library.

Many of the books I've been reading, this book included, have the same format. It begins by describing some common types of natural medicine (16 in this book). Then it lists common health problems (160 in this book) and the remedies from selected types of natural medicine.

Some of the remedies in this book were unique. So, I may buy it or check it out again if I need to refer to it later.

I founded the book to be all that I expected and somewhat more. The medical information were easy to find. And the price was somewhat unbelievable at 1 cent. I keep the book handy for quick advice.

I've been in the alternative health world for a long time so was very interested in perusing this book. I was pleasantly surprised how thorough and concise Alan Smith's book is. Concise, yet, full of very valuable and researched material, this book gives the reader glimpse into a variety of therapies available to enhance health.

I can see this book being of great importance to those entering the field of alternative health, or those wanting to know what alternative/complementary therapies are available and what they consist of. The options are plentiful and it doesn't look like Alan missed any.

Great resource, a must-have in the library, and informative, Alan gives the reader options to healing. Highly recommend.

This is the most comprehensive complete listing of alternative health approaches. I am very familiar with about a dozen listed and all were given a even balanced write up. Well done. A complete reference work. Achieving health without meds.

For some reason, I thought this was going to be more of a guide to help those of use with health problems instead of just a list of complementary and alternative therapies.

It wasn't that long ago that your family doctor was the only option when you were faced with health issues. You'd make an appointment and he'd prescribe a pill. If that magic pill didn't help you'd get another. Finally, given no other alternative, you'd just learn to live with your pain symptoms.

Today, it seems that more and more people are becoming open to complimentary and alternative health resources. Many are unhappy with their present care. Others are simply looking for ways to compliment their current treatments.

Although the actual methods vary substantially, most of these therapies look to the root cause of dis-ease and then seek to understand, release, or heal that issue. Still, the sheer number of options can be overwhelming for the average person. Where to even start?

In my opinion, reading UnBreak your Health is a very good way to begin. This book provides quite an extensive list of possible alternative and complementary therapies. Moreover, for each method, the author provides important contact information and comments from individuals who have actually tried the option.

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (1/08)

"UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies" by Alan E. Smith presents a comprehensive guide useful for when you want to explore other options beyond traditional medicine. If you are considering complementary or alternative therapies you are not alone! According to a statistic presented in the introduction, in the year 2002 over half of all Americans turned to trying one of these therapies. Complementary and alternative therapies are positive on many levels. They focus on the fact that each person is a "unique individual composed of mind, body and spirit (or life-force energy)" and that each problem should be solved by tailoring the treatment to the specific person. Instead of focusing on the specific symptoms or issues as traditional medicine oftentimes does, complementary and alternative therapies often look at the body as a whole and work to heal the entire entity to make the body function in a more efficient manner. They go to the inner source of the problem rather than just treating the topical symptoms.

The author divides the different therapies up into three areas: the body, the mind and the energy/spirit. The "body" section presents an overview of such therapies from the familiar like chiropractic care and massage to the lesser known like Emei Qigong and the Nambudripdad Allergy Elimination Technique. The "mind" chapter focuses on therapies such as Art Therapy, Guided Imagery, Hypnosis, and Traumatic Incident Reduction. Finally, the "energy/spirit" section focuses on therapies which use human energy to heal such as Acupuncture, Crystal Bowl Therapy, Polarity Therapy and Qi Gong.

Each therapy examined in the book has a description explaining the origins, beliefs and techniques used in the method. After most descriptions is a favorite part of mine called "user comments" which aids in understanding how effective these therapies are. These are comments from actual users of these particular methods. It is very interesting to see the results that these people have had using the different techniques. This section makes the book more personable instead of strictly a reference guide. Websites are listed for most therapies if readers would like to seek out more information or specifics.

I recommend this thorough guide to complementary and alternative therapies to anyone who is frustrated with conventional medicine's approach to his health issues or to anyone who just wants to educate himself as to what is out there in terms of non-traditional care. "UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies" presents so many different options and techniques, some of which I never knew existed, and the information is presented in a very reader friendly and easy to use way.

This book is not quite what I thought it was - it gives me information that I already have but not the help that I need. I have been interested in homeopathy for years and have used it to some degree - I'll keep looking for more info.

It has been well said that to learn things right you must study from the Masters. This book is written on the philosophy and orthodox practice of homeopathy (h/p) by the living master of classical h/p, George Vithoulkas.
It is a complete book that puts homeopathy in the right context from the beginning. It teaches the virtue of finding the correct remedy and practicing patience and restrain rather than the "fast food" approach to h/p common today.
While it is targeted to the prescriber (or student of h/p) it is highly recommended for the educated 'patient' who wants a rounded understanding on the subject. Furthermore, Appendix B is worth the whole price of the book.
This is a book of substance. You may read it overnight like many books but what is important, this is a book to read three times and still come back to it.

Published in 1980, this book remains the best comprehensive overview of Homeopathy available to date. I am a faculty member of the Center for Health and Healing in New York City. I practice and teach homeopathy there. Our fellows are required to read this book prior to the beginning of the homeopathic curriculum.
I highly reccomend this book for any serious student of homeopathy.

Excellent introductory book for the serious reader.
Compliments the reading of the Organon.

This excellent book is for students and/or beginning practitioners, but it should be required reading before consumers are allowed to purchase so-called homeopathic remedies, or worse, visit allopaths and naturopaths who profit from consumer interest in homeopathy.

After reading this book, you will realize that anyone who tells you homeopathic remedies are "safe" is at best ignorant, and any allopath or naturopath who prescribes homeopathic remedies is at best dishonest.

This book is an excellent remedy for the kind of irrational, magical thinking that leads fools to believe there can be a powerful medicine that is also perfectly safe in the hands of an idiot. Read it before you buy an OTC homeopathic remedy for the flu, or before you believe you are getting the best of all possible worlds when you visit an allopath or naturopath who claims expertise in homeopathy.

This is advice from a person whose introduction to homeopathy was being harmed by a naturopath (I wish I could publish her name and address) practising the art of extracting dollars from the gullible. Allopathy and naturopathy are systems that are completely antithetic to homeopathy. No honest person can practise both, a fact that this book makes pefectly clear.

With this book, George Vithoulkas has served both the student of homeopathy and the general public.

Easy to read & understand. Tells you all you'll need to know about bentonite clay & its benefits.

At first I thought that eating clay was crazy. After reading this book I am a true believer. The author takes a step by step approach that is simple to understand and creates a strong argument for the benefits of this substance. Nature also uses these healing benefits and we are just getting back to our roots of the earth.

I have always been interested in clay eating. It is such a fascinating topic. I like the book and was able to finish it in good time. It is good easy reading and straight to the point. I just started eating the clay and hoping for good results!

Get this book on clay. You will learn a lot.Call the companies in the back if you have questions. I ordered from two of them back there, and they sent me the products already.

Interesting read...very homeopathic, tells of benefits of clay:) The book informs you how & why. Informs about baths, facials, recipes, etc.

I read this book and it was very helpful to me. It helped me to understand the very mysterious habit of clay eating. With some good anecdotes, and straight-to-the-point writing, I was certainly pleased with the manuscript. There are lots of clays on the marketplace and the author helps the reader to categorize the various clays and choose one that is right for him or her. Not to mention that there are so many different delivery systems for the clay!

I would enthusiastically reccomend this book. I hear that it is going to go to a 2nd printing. I will buy that one, too.

This book is an extended "argumentum ad populum." It does not matter how many people like something if it is wrong. Bleeding sick people was, once, popular. Treating people with horrible purgatives was, once, popular. History is replete with ineffective, yet popular, remedies.

Aside from the invalidity of the premise, the book is factually wrong. For example, Darwin was treated by a "hydrotherapist" (James Gully, as I recall) not a homeopath. Darwin despised homeopaths, not that his opinion matters concerning their lack of efficacy. After 200+ years, there is no good support for any homeopathic treatment.

Sorry, I can't give this nonsense zero stars.

The name and life work of Dana Ullman, MPH, should be familiar to practitioners of homeopathy around the world, and especially in the English speaking world. Indeed, in America, his name and service to homeopathy is certainly well known to every practitioner and to many grateful laypersons who rely upon the resources he offers them. His justified fame comes not only through the publication of his own fine books, but perhaps even more actively through his dedicated directorship of the Homeopathic Educational Services, based in California but accessible to the world by mailorder and online. I daresay most American students and practitioners of homeopathy could hardly survive without this well-established, reliable, and highly respected comprehensive source of books, media and software and publications focussed on homeopathy. Through the resources of the Homeopathic Educational Services and his popular books, I believe Ullman has done more to educate, inform and thereby advance homeopathy in the United States than any other single individual. As such, any new book by Ullman is well worth the attention of the practitioner or anyone interested in this fascinating branch of healing, experiencing a rebirth in the 21st century--to a significant extent, midwifed in America by Ullman. His latest work, The Homeopathic Revolution (North Atlantic Press), provides a rich source of historical information on the source and rocky road of homeopathy by tracing its history and with brief biographies of its pioneers and patients.

The Homeopathic Revolution through its highly readable text and uniquely appealing approach can be very valuable indeed for opening some
minds which might very well be more influenced by the personalities and famous exemplars from the history of literature, the arts and sciences and entertainment since the advent of homoepathy in the early 19th century through the present.
In an age of Media where fascination with the personalities of the public world, there is a particular attraction to the use of the famous as exemplars, including the wide spectrum of those offered by the book, i.e., the many special and
admired people who have been documented as devotees of homeopathy. The devotees of those devotees will certainly have their
minds opened by the examples set. Although more detailed history within a broader historical setting may be found in Coulter's multi-volume history,
Ullman's book provides something rather different in spite of the inevitable overlaps in historical material....and considerably more entertainment through the fascination of an historical play and its players.

There will probably be rather fewer serendipitous surprises for readers already familiar with homeopathy's history through Coulter, & al, in discovering celebrities of the past and accounting for homeopathy's struggle for survival, than for someone more or less unfamiliar with homeopathy's struggle for recognition and survival. However, the struggle of homeopathy to achieve and maintain its unique approach is an heroic one, on the grand scale and worthy of more historical/personal treatments which characterize Ullman's book....especially given the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of celebrity worship and the cult of the personality in our media-influenced society. But I do not mean to suggest that this is merely a tantalizing read, with homeopaths as heroes: the book should prove a powerful raiser of consciousness among readers who might not otherwise give homeopathic treatment a try, influenced by its popularity among the great and famous.


From other perspectives, the book offers interesting insights and syntheses of the historical, biographical and scientific. For example, of fascinating interest is the repeated presence and reference to the great 19th century naturalist whose theories of evolution and the origin of species through natural selection also constituted a revolution, viz., Charles Darwin. I found the Darwin's appearances in the story especially relevant in an account of the origin of homeopathy and its descent in man and the survival of the fittest....i.e., in the evolution of medicine. Homeopathy appeared and gained its place in medicine at a time when allopathic medicine offered little in the way of effective treatments for most diseases and was making real progress only in the mechanics of surgery and sanitation. Once allopathic medicine found itself threatened and hired a PR expert to promote itself and discredit its more effective competition, the historical equivalent to Darwin's concept of mutation (here in the form of the Madison Avenue approach to conditioning a population regarding choice of medical care), homeopathy faltered and almost disappeared into extinction. Yet, it survived and I am reminded that although the incredibly powerful and once dominant dinosaurs are today apparently extinct and so one might not think "fit" enough to survive, it is also clear that the dinosaurs actually do survive everywhere on earth as birds. That is, their survivors adapted to fresh forms to preserve their unique genus and genius.....which is what I believe happened, and is happening, to homeopathy. Far from becoming extinct, it is surviving, not only reappearing in its classical forms far from its birthplace (e.g., in India, a land with a history for tolerance of diversity in thought) but in new forms (e.g., complex homeopathy, EAV and vegatesting, &c).

For myself, reading through the book felt like a guided tour through a wax museum of homeopathic history, a Mme. Tussaud's of the Similimum, pausing at each of the bigger than life statues as Ullman profiled the intriguing personalities who populate the history of homeopathy and thereby define it in a personal way. It is an impressive cast of characters in the saga: US Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton, Benjamin Disraeli, numerous Indian political and religious leaders in particular (India, to its great credit, seeming to be the land of the Second Coming of homeopathy), many famous females, e.g., in medicine, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, in civil rights Susan B. Anthony,and Louisa May Alcott and fellow literary luminaries such as Mark Twain... and a stellar cast of 19th century authors. Perhaps even more impressive than the more traditionally open-minded masters of arts, are homeopathic partisans among plutocrats like J.D.Rockefeller, many monarchs including, most famously, the present Queen of England and Prince of Wales, And as for musicians, actors, athletes and other entertainers, I feel hopeless to know where to begin listing the superstars who depend upon homeopathic treatment. Ullman skillfully weaves literary references to homeopathy with historical excerpts to humanize the generations of some of the cream of human creativity and productivity who respected or depended upon homeopathy for their health. Of course, many physicians appear in the account, most of their names unknown to the layperson, but influential both in the progress and preservation of homeopathy...as well as in its defamation by the public relations office of the American Medical Association, whose outlandish melodramatic antics (including outright blackmail) beggar belief.


As an alternative medical therapy, homeopathy is about people, after all. With a few exceptions, since most new books about homeopathy are about technical praxis or theory, I had to keep reminding myself of this personal slant-- that homeopathy is also a history which reflects the vagaries of the human personnae. However, since I myself admittedly have a theoretical bias, the following comments address that orientation:

I especially appreciated how larger, important issues of society seem to
naturally arise in the narrative --e.g., the account of the
relationship of feminism to homeopathy, a correlation which has long
fascinated me as a reflection of a powerful, arguably essentially feminine,
energy in homeopathy insofar as it is a gentle, relatively
nonintrusive and nurturing form of therapy compared to the more
aggressive allopathic interventions.
other issues which i have always found interesting in homeopathy
which are integrated in the saga, address include the notable presence and influence of
Swedengorgian ideas. the fundamental commonality of swedenborg's
cosmology to certain asian metaphysics has also struck me--e.g.,
jainism. both Swedenborg and the Jains perceived the universe
metaphysically as a macrocosmic physiology. other asian philosophies
are also compatible with homeopathic concepts. for instance, the
basic meditation methods advocated in early buddhism (and still
practiced more than 2500 years later) include a visualization of the
pathological counterparts to desire and attachment, which along with
a fundamental delusion about the materiality of the ego, constitute
the source of suffering. such meditations (e.g., charnal ground
meditations, &c) are essentially homeopathic in their psychodynamics.

Related to such western (e.g., Swedenborg) and asiatic (e.g.,
Jainism, Buddhism from Theravada to Dzogchen) spirituality is,
increasingly, Dr Rajan Sankaran's evolving and innovative theoretics: his
conceptualization of the alien (and alienating) , nonhuman realms of
the vegetable, mineral and nonhuman animal kingdoms as energetic
pathological entities, also resonates with ideas in all three
paradigms (e.g., the jains believe that animals, vegetables and even
minerals are sentient, accumulators of pathogenic karma, &c. likewise
the realms of rebirth which karma propels human beings according to
their conduct, also include the same kingdoms which materialize
energy on earth and which can be diagnostically identified in
sankaran's theory of sensations.(interestingly, the old title given
to psychoanalysts of "alienist" would seem to better apply to
homeopaths using Sankaran's diagnostic criteria for locating the
remedy in the alien energy present in the patient. )

fFr me, the crucial key is the understanding and finding homeopathy
credible is to embrace the concept that homeopathy functions
essentially nonmaterially. this concept is the least palatable and
digestible to conventional allopathic thinking because of its belief
that the human being is a material being. buddhism, in particular,
clarifies the nonmaterial nature of human beings, that its apparent
corporeality or materiality is the fundamental delusion in the
aetiology of suffering (whether it is experienced physically or
psychically). for anyone who accepts this metaphysical model (e.g.,
me), the concept of the treatment with nonmaterial remedies of
essentially nonmaterial suffering in essentially nonmaterial humans
makes profoundly perfect sense...

(By the way, if the reader has not already read it, may i suggest you
Prof. B. Alan Wallace's excellent book, Choosing Reality? If
the readers of this review are unfamiliar with Wallace, he was trained as a physicist but became a Buddhist monk. a translator for the dalai lama and now a
professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Wallace's book analyzes the so-called "scientific method" (is it really scientific) which allopaths claim to employ and compare it with other valid means to knowledge. The "weakness" of homeopathy being "tested"
by inappropriate methodology more suited to allopathy, and found wanting, can be better understood by the insights of this brief but invaluable study of the assumptions and intellectual monopoly of the so-called scientific method.
Although I do not recall that it mentions homeopathy or even medicine
particularly, I found this slim volume to be one of the best
catalysts for opening the mind to unfamiliar, if not unorthodox paradigms.
(it is readily available, in print by Snow Lion press).

From these contemplative digressions inspired by the thought provoking contents of Ullman's The Homeopathic Revolution, one can perhaps get a sense of
how inspiring of integrative and connective thought this very
enjoyable book was.... and, for me, that is the highest praise of
an book, being, for me, the most important potential of any work of
art, including literary (even when nonfictional) is to invite,
catalyze and inspire the participation of the creative imagination
of its audience, and so inspire synthesizing gestalts to be created
by making the insightful connections which unify knowledge and inspire as the antecedents of wisdom.

Prof. Neal White

-30-
(About the author of the review: Dr Neal White is Emeritus Professor of San Francisco State University, where he taught for 25 years. He is a complementary medical practitioner, whose practice includes not only homeopathy, but also a variety of acupuncture paradigms, herbalism, etc. He is supposed to be retired, but continues his work in the healing and visual arts in Nova Scotia, Canada.

This book is really great. Even if you have never tried homeopathy (and so hate it) this book is going to pry your mind open. All the biographies of famous people who use homeopathy not only gives one courage to try it but also backs you up when your friends tell you using homeopathys is for weirdos. Is Tina Turner a weirdo?
Beyond the bios are some really thought provoking pieces about the pharmaceutical industry like Why Homeopaths are Hated and Vilified. Too, the chapter on water and its capacity for memory is most timely in science today. It consider it a MUST READ for 2008

If you have ever wanted to try homeopathy, but weren't sure what it is, or thought your doctor would laugh at you, read this book and learn more about it, it's history and other famous people who were helped by it. I have found it incredibly useful and fun to use the information in conversations with others about natural health care. Who can scoff at all those well-respected people and their amazing stories?

The first book I ever read about homeopathy--about 16 years ago--was written by Dana Ullmann and it helped me pursue homeopathy for health and as a profession. Thanks for writing this one! It is the start of what homeopathy really needs--famous people advocating its amazing healing powers.

This is a long awaited book by the homeopathic community that supports the effacy of this model of health care. Homeopathy is an energy based medicine that is experienced, effective, and gentle. It was not always easy to practice in the past. With the addition of the computer age and a worldwide network of successful teachers, homeopathy is producing results that outperform every other medical model. This book in the mainstream could revolutionize the health care system in America, as it already does aroung the world.

Dr. Bill Tallmon N.D. Ph.D.