Fitness Books

Finally, a book about diet that isn't a diet! Instead, it's a compilation of all the information about losing weight and keeping it off through lifestyle changes. Easy to read, nicely presented, this book set me on a one-year plan to lose those last 10 pounds -- one habit at a time.

I enjoyed this book because it was not specifically about weight loss. The focus was on nutrition and it really made me want to be healthy!

If you're looking for a gimmick, a quick fix, or a flashy fad diet, keep looking. 10 HABITS THAT MESS UP A WOMAN'S DIET is a book based on solid nutritional research and the author's interviews with people who have done a lot of thinking about women and weight.

Elizabeth Somer, RD, has a funny and engaging style, but she's not afraid to serve you the facts straight up. The result is one of the smartest guides to nutrition for women that I've come across in years.

The author explains the situational, chemical and emotional contributors to overeating or poor eating. She recommends different strategies that fit the different triggers or causes. Read this book to get the right tool for your situation. Maybe it will be a food journal, healthy munchies, calorie tracking, ways to love veggies, but it definitely won't be a fad diet.

Habit 1: Mindless Eating
Invisible Calories
Eating on Auto-Pilot: The Down-Side
Nibbling Is OK
Mindful Breakfasts
Kick the Habit
Choose a New Habit
Mindful Eating
Habit 2: Putting Other's Needs Ahead of Our Own
Love 'n' Marriage: Together in Eating
Babies and Weight Gain
Mealtime Peer Pressure
Dining Out Can Do Us In
Kick the Habit
Keep Your Diet in Perspective
Habit 3: Not Being Honest
Fessing Up Is Hard to Do
Portion Distortion
Kick the Habit
How Much Exercise Is Enough?
It's Within Your Grasp
Habit 4: Skip the Broccoli, Eat the Fries
Nothing Is Better for You than Produce
How Much Are You Eating?
Which Ones Are the Best?
Produce to Avoid
Kick the Habit
Ya Gotta Love 'em
Habit 5: Setting Off Without a Plan
Kick the Habit
Outside the Box
Two "Must-Have" Habits
Practice, Practice, Practice
The Only Way to Get Better Is to Change
Habit 6: Excuses, Excuses, Excuses
You Can Change
Kick the Habit
Take Responsibility
Habit 7: I'm Moody, Let's Eat!
Food for Solace or Sustenance?
Food and Mood
Dieting = Weight Gain
Kick the Habit
Your Mood Is More than Just Diet
Habit 8: Give Me the Quick Fix, Now!
Tell Me Again Why Diets Don't Work
Diet Myths Debunked
Kick the Habit
Commit to Health
Habit 9: Drinking Away Our Waistlines
Silent Calories
Cola Calories
Josephine Six Pack
The Dark Side of Alcohol
Kick the Habit
Think Moderation
Habit 10: The All-or-Nothing Approach to Dieting
Why the All-or-Nothing Mentality Fails
All-or-Nothing and Your Weight
Self-Talk: The Inside-Your-Head Chatter
Kick the Habit
Give Yourself Some Slack

I checked this book out at the library and liked it so much I puchased it. Not anything I don't already know, but to see, in actual print, all the reasons why and how you cheat on a diet is much more motivational than you would think. Ouch! The truth really hurts but it's also really helped.

Love, Medicine and Miracles: Lessons Learned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon's Experience with Exceptional Patients
Meditations for Enhancing Your Immune System
After having read Bernie Siegel, I wanted to hear him and I did. I was very pleased with his meditations. But I wanted to explore further.
I found Dr Goodman to be the answer. She is factual and a real person. She describes how she used to teach self-healing to others and then got cancer. She thought this was a joke. From within, she panicked. She then tried her own method and got rid of the cancer, only it returned. In fact, it returned three times. It is only then that she did some deep work to uncover the reasons why this cancer was re-occurring. Doctors told her that if she was not following the normal medical way she would die.
And here came her answer to her quest. She found that she had a core destructive belief that she got as a little child listening to her father's prayer "Thank God I am not a woman"
Thanks to this, she transformed her toxic attitudes to positive ones.

Her book is not only the story of how she was healed of cancer, but also the full detail of a refined method to heal cancer and other diseases. She is fully humane, never condescending or patronizing. She knows because she has gone through the fears, and she came out victorious. With warmth and enthusiasm she goes into full details of her method. You can apply it straight away.


Healing is a decision. It is a choice. If, like me, you are affected with a disease that troubles your life, this warm book is a boon. It does work. I have started to do the deep work of exploration. It is fascinating how the body responds to positive affirmations. This is not a glib answer to patch a plaster on a wooden leg. This work is intense, emotional, sometimes painful. But the hope that blooms in you with results that bud into reality, that is very convincing.
This book is also for people who have a chronic disease and the doctor keeps you "ticking" without much improvement. This book will relieve you.

I can't say enough wonderful things about this book.. It has truely changed my life. Not only is it uplifting and encouraging, it works! I started to notice small changes in little ways and slowly started to really believe. At a time when you feel overwhelmed & scared because of a doctors diagnosis, this book gave me hope, the beginning of all i needed turn it around. I'd recommend it highly.

This book is chock full of meditations for self-healing, no matter what the disease or complaint. The premise of this book is the mind-body connection, that we are ultimately responsible for our own state of health.

Shivani's writing style is easy to read, as if you were chatting comfortably with a good friend. I have tweaked my daily meditation sessions with suggestions found in this book. I wish Amazon sold Shivani Goodman's audio recordings to go along with this book, but this volume is a must-have for those interested in self-healing. You won't be disappointed.

Great book everyone shpuld read it

Very simple and outstanding way of getting the message across. Cancer can be cured without drugs or surgery.

Though I would not have expected it with my rigorous and traditional Reiki background, I was inexplicably drawn to this book one day out of the blue. Currently, I am in a period of self-study and examination before I move on to the mastery level/ shinpiden teachings in Usui Reiki Ryoho. This book has valuable tools for the practical side of a Reiki practice, including an inventory of qualities demonstrated by healing facilitators and teachers, tools and tips for teaching classes in Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki, sample consent and client info forms, templates for passing on attunements and wonderful meditations, and lots of personal stories dotting the writing.

Although I may never study this or any related branch of Reiki/energy work, this book is still greatly enriching my experience as I alk the path. The tools are great for anyone, no matter the path. I have been thankful to be exposed to a lot of newer western Reiki techniques in my training, all the while maintaining a deep connection to traditional practices and historical applications of Reiki. This book builds upon the modernized New Age-y methods with many more tools to add to this category. Any teacher or practitioner, whether your methodology may be Usui Reiki Ryoho, SSR, aromatherapy, crystal therapy, or anything else, may enjoy this book for what it contributes.

Diane Shewmaker has a lot of heart in this book. I am sure that you will feel the blessings of healing as you work through it.

Diane shares not only the ancient art of Reiki but also a wealth of experiences and techniques that are readily available not only to Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki and SKHM Reiki, but across all borders of the Reiki lineages. Diane teaches you that there are no limitations as Reiki is constantly evolving through every individuals' own experiences; in turn, creating All Love.

I thought this book was very well written. It's very detailed in it's explanation of the SSR energy matrix. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more on this Subject

One day, I looked up and saw this book sitting on my home bookshelf. Don't ask me how it got there, but the timing was perfect: I discovered that just a few days hence, the author would be teaching at a local bookstore, and I already had the text in hand. It was just one more step on an amazing journey I couldn't have even begun to have predicted.

Shewmaker has infused this book with such love and compassion that it is not uncommon to feel the healing energy moving through your body just as you sit and read. She walks healers through every step of SSR (Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki), from the origins of its three facets, through all of the symbols and the initiation process, and even into the more mundane matters of healing as a business.

This book is a valuable tool on so many levels, whether you're completely new to energy healing or a seasoned master. I, too, am looking forward to the release of the teacher's manual!

As a SSR Master Teacher, I've been using this manual for my own Sekhem/Seichim/Reiki practice. The atunements in the back of the book are especially powerful and filled with love. For anyone interested in energy work, I would consider this required reading. Even if you have never been exposed to Reiki before and are interested in learning more about it from one of the best teachers out there (she attuned the woman who attuned me), this is a great book for novices as well as seasoned professionals.

Another Morning is a very powerful, moving and inspiring book. As a retired manager of a radiation oncology center, I believe that this should be required reading for all health care professionals who work with mothers dealing with cancer while raising their children. I admire these mothers for their courage and the volunteers and Linda Blachman for their compassion.

Linda Blachman's project (Mothers' Living Stories Project) is a brilliant idea, enriching the listeners as well as supporting the mothers. As a reader, I became something of a listener too. Another Morning is an important and moving work.

This book slows down and allows the stories of these women to unfold. As each story is told and as each woman goes through their individual journey with illness, the reader is brought into each life and bears witness to the gravity of daily decisions - of preparations for life and for death. Linda Blachman deftly guides the stories, providing insight and context, but allows these real, three dimensional, flesh and blood women to tell their own stories in their separate and unique voices. This book was obviously a labor of love and the time and care taken by the author with each of the featured women is evident from the the first word to the last.

With dignity and eloquence, Linda Blachman tells the stories of mothers challenged by serious illness. What they reveal is a gift for everyone: sick and well, male and female, parents and non-parents. The mothers' passion, grief and wisdom elucidates the true meaning of courage and selfless love. I laughed and cried and, in the end, regretted leaving them.

I was able to listen to Linda Blachman at an author reading in Menlo Park. I was struck with her personal history of dealing with pain and of being a mother while undergoing excruciating treatment for her ailments. Here is an author who can listen and convey empathy without being overbearing and who can transmit the stories of mothers, leaving their voices intact.
I am a Stage IV cancer patient with two boys, ages 8 and 11. I have long struggled with the knowledge of my imminent death and how to deal with my feelings of guilt over the abandonment of my kids. Even though I will leave a very caring and compentent father in the care, I still cannot shake my guilt over leaving them motherless. Linda's book has given me the stories of mothers in the same situation and feelings. It has been a great relief for me to find a place where I can find understanding for my own feelings. Linda's book has prompted me to work on my Ethical Will (I have, long ago, together with my husband, signed a Living Will) and to reflect on my own life story and my expectations for my children. Thank you Linda for one of the most worthewhile books I have ever had the pleasure to read!

As the parent of an adolescent child with Asperger's, I found this book to be just what was needed -- a no nonsense approach to helping our kids with a sense of humor. This is the second book by this author that I have purchased. I will purchase more, I am sure.

This book is one of the best I've seen about the transitional issues that arise when someone with Aspergers reaches their teens. With my son, we find each developmental step has its own challenges, but the movement into middle school, with the increased expectations of self-management and the early teen student issues among peers has been a bigger challenge than most. This book helped me frame these issues as they apply to my son, improving my understanding. Then I could apply many of the ideas provided both directly and through the school. My biggest problem is that this is such a slow read ... not because it is hard to read (to the contrary, its very understandable and straightforward.) Its a "slow go" because of all of the underlining and page marking I am doing to track the "good stuff." Dr Bolick has done those of use living in these situation a major service with this work! I fully recommend it.

More and more books are addressing the problems ASD kids encounter in their latter years . Teresa Bolick has written a well thought out and structured book that answers many of the concerns that parents and teachers have. Would you need another book dealing with this area ? I would say...yes. It is such an important time in these kids lives that a comprehensive knowledge is needed by all those that care for these yound adults.


reviewed by Special Education Teacher and father of ASD child.

I have a son with Aspergers. This book is a great help!

I haven't finished reading this book, but so far what I've read completely fits. My AS teen needs all the help he can get with organization, social skills, etc. This book gives real life examples and excerps from real parents and adolescents with AS. This book is helping me to better understand my child and to help him develop strategies and coping mechanisms so he can have a successful life. Definitely a good addition to my AS library!

A must have for NP school. Great book. Thanks Amazon for providing the best prices and great services.

If you work in a pediatric practice which serves children, you will find yourself turning to this book again and again. It has very helpful and complete text and pictures. Our pediatric residents use it as a primary board review text. I highly recommend it. Anyone want to buy a Nelson's???

I bought this to study for the pediatric boards and it was very helpful for the picture session. I've also found it extremely helpful everyday in seeing patients especially the dermatology section.

Another ubiquitous book. A "must have"....or "must have owned". Too big. People just buy it for the pictures anyway, has anyone really read the text in Zitelli's? Most people use it as an atlas to review for boards...My logic is, if you're gonna just use it for pictures, why not google images? There are other atlases out there that are less cumbersome and cheaper. Plus, do you think the pedi board people will take a picture right out of a well-known text?

Useful as a bookend or coffe table a-la Kramer in Seinfeld.

This is the finest text a pediatrician can own for daily practice, board brush up and companion to the standard textbooks. It can fill many gaps inherent in the nature of pediatric training and is eminently relevant. If the authors never pen another things, they can be forever proud of this work. Brava.

He has done it again. I love this man. I can relate to him so much. He has given me the desire to change my life.

Pray it Forward: Spiritual Growth Meditations

Pray it Forward: Daily Meditations

I've come across this Jewel of a book after reading "The Greatest Salesman in the World" This little handbook of rules to live by is the only set of rules you will ever need to lead a wonderful life. I laughed and cried while reading because his writings ring so true. How fortunate of me to have come across such a wonderful little book that can transform anyone's life for the better. Read it, enjoy it, apply it to your life and enjoy all that life has to offer you.

Og Mandino is the greatest inspirational writer of our time! This book is just another example of what a fine human being he was! I just hope there's someone out there to continue his legacy. A really great read!

Illustrative with many of his inspiring and life changing stories, Og Mandino tells us in this book, that "we have forgotten one of the basic facts of life. When we were given dominion over this world, we were also given dominion over ourselves. We are our own navigators. It was never God's intention to chart a map for each of us." "Life is a game" he also says, "it's spiritual, mysterious and precious." But in order to play the game you have to know the rules.
Seventeen rules (to be exact) to live by in order to lead a better way to live.
This book can easily be read in one afternoon. As you start the book you will be invited by the author to sit down and relax in his company as he takes on the role of a racconteur, as only Og Mandino does best.

I have read everyone of Og Mandinos Books and all I can say is that he writes with brilliance, clarity, enthusiasm, and spirit. You can never go wrong with any of his books. He points out the path to success and motivates the spirit within to achieve all that we as human beings are capable. He helped me to tap into my innate genuis and create a life of prosperity and creativity. If you havent raed his books, start now and your journey of the spirit will begin. He was a born writer and even after his passing continues to have a great influence on many people old and young. He truly lived a purposeful and divine life. Go buy all his books and enjoy the growth and enlightenment. After that Buy my Book " Your daily Walk with the Great Minds of the Past and Present". Enjoy and rememeber you are capable of great things in your life.

not a bad book but since i already knew most of the information in it, it wasn't as interesting as i hoped. Yeah, FDA is joke, most doctors prescribe antibiotics without even considering your illness or your medical history, sort of like free candy. Modern medicine became a sham since there are plenty of "alternative" or "natural" cures that work as well as most of medications that are being supressed. I have also had a negative reaction to antibiotics before and because of it stopped taking it altogether. Nothing new there.

"Bitter Pills" is the real-life version of "Strong Medicine" by Arthur Hailey. With a very personal beginning resulting from his wife's near death and slow recovery from taking ONE PILL (Floxin), author Fried went on to find whether there were other victims (many), and why the drug was approved in the first place. Interviews in profusion show why the FDA has its problems. Examples are given of the tendency of drug companies to defend their drugs at any cost regardless of evidence. The end of the book contains addresses of many drug companies, organizations to whom to report adverse drug reactions, and a sample form to send to the FDA. Well thought-out advice for patients (or their helpmates) to investigate drugs are given. A number of other good books on the subject are listed.
Fried is to be congratulated for doing a very accurate job with a minimum number of accusations. I did not find a single technical error in the entire book, and I have about 12 years exploratory drug development and teaching about it as a professor of medicinal chemistry.
Even Fried may not have realized how many drugs not discussed in his book shorten life, because they are tested and accepted based on surrogate endpoints for short periods. This may not be so bad for antibiotics that are taken for two weeks, but can be very destructive for drugs intended to be taken for 20-40 years.

This book begins as a personal story. One day journalist Stephen Fried was forced to rush his wife, novelist Diane Ayres, to an emergency room, when she suffered a severe seizure. She turned out to be suffering an adverse reaction to an antibiotic, Floxin, which she had been instructed to take for a minor urinary infection. "Bitter Pills" grew out of Fried's attempts to understand what had happened to his wife.

Fried, and his readers, soon discover that Diane Ayres' case was not unique, or even rare. Floxin is only one of legions of prescription drugs which can cause severe adverse reactions, which cause at least 45,000 deaths per year in the US (some estimates go as high as 200,000). It is a tribute to Fried's excellence as a reporter that he is able go beyond his dramatic personal story to give a comprehensive picture of what he calls " the hazardous world of legal drugs."

Fried reviews the history of drug regulation in the US, and ably documents the shortcomings of the current regulatory system, as well as the inordinate influence drug companies have on the process. Two of the many specific "hazards" he identifies are the desperate need for doctors to have an independent, reliable source of information on the drugs they prescribe (almost all the informatin they currently have comes from drug manufacturers), and the equally crying need for an effective system for reporting and cataloging adverse drug reactions.

I put this book down very impressed with Fried as both a reporter and a writer. He has clearly immersed himself in an important issue long enough, and deeply enough, that he has mastered it. He has then turned around to convey the complex issues involved to readers very effectively and without losing their interest. I look forward to work of similar excellence from Fried in the future.

I didn't know about Stephen Fried and "Bitter Pills," much less quinolone antibiotics, until I myself was, like Mr. Fried's wife, "Floxed," just a few weeks ago. I began my search for information on reactions to quinolones after four days of gatifloxacin (brandname Tequin) left me with tingling and weak arms and legs, difficulty swallowing and breathing, visual disturbances, headaches, dizziness, and more. I seriously thought I had a stroke or Guillain Barre syndrome or rapid onset multiple sclerosis, I was so sick.

Let me say that first, Stephen Fried's book is an excellent overview of the circumstances of adverse drug reactions to quinolone antibiotics. And with the increased visibility and use of Cipro, and the ease with which doctors dispense heavy-hitting antibiotics like Levaquin and Tequin, I'm sure I'm not going to be the last person to suffer a reaction and end up being "Floxed" and needing the information and reassurance provided by this book.

But it is also much much more. It's an expose of the pharmaceutical industry's fast and loose way of dealing with drugs, drug safety and the American public. This is not a rant -- it's an impeccably researched and detailed presentation of the intricacies involved in drug approvals and tracking of adverse reactions that exposes the limitations of the system, and the dangers those limitations present to us as patients and consumers.

As a patient advocate and spokesperson for thyroid and autoimmune disease patients, I know all too well the feeling of being held hostage to big pharmaceutical companies at the expense of my health and wellness.

Stephen Fried has finally exposed and explained -- clearly and without rancor -- how the drug industry really works, and his book, including the excellent appendix on how to contact pharmaceutical companies, report adverse reactions, protect yourself against bad drugs, and generally protect yourself as a consumer -- is must-reading for every empowered patient or health consumer.

I highly recommend this book to doctors, patients, and anyone who prescribes or takes prescription drugs.

I am another victim of a Fluoroquinolone, just like the author's wife. Take this book very seriously, because what doctors tell you is 'rare' is in fact extremely common. Levaquin (one of the fluoroquinolones) caused me to develop Fibromyalgia. For a time I had to use a walker. I was in constant pain for nearly one full year. Although the doctors say this is 'rare', three other women in my office of 30 people also developed Fibromyalgia after taking one of these pills. In my realm of family and friends, I have discovered nine others...each and every single one had a doctor telling them they did not know the cause of their pains. Each and every single one took a Fluoroquinolone pill before getting these terrible pains that never go away. No doctor will admit to it, and so therefore it goes unreported, and continues to falsely be considered a 'rare event'. There is a group of victims on yahoo that number more than 1600 from all over the world. Some have died or have family members who have died from these pills. Others are permanantly in wheel chairs or confined to bed from the pain. The pain these pills can cause is not like anything else you have ever felt. It's new and extraordinarily tortuous. I have been suffering for almost two years because of ten Levaquin pills. I am only in my 30s and before Levaquin was in great health. The information in this book is worth reading, because the Fluoroquinolones are the most prescribed antibiotic out there, and chances are you will be handed a prescription for one. You need to know the truth about these pills before you even take just one. The first pill nearly ruptured my eyes! The third pill decayed my ankle. The list goes on forever, even long after I stopped the last pill, and you can never be entirely the same after you're affected.

The first section of this book reads like a mystery thriller only it was true of the situation in London just 100 years before most of us were born. The rampant use of denial, obfuscation, and just plain lies by the medical and political power base is amazing. That is "big egos running wild"! They expressed themselves or failed to express like the EPA at the expense of the health and lives of many people. The book "Reclaiming Our Health" by John Robbins, 1996, shows it is still going on today. Just take note of all the repeated ads for pharmaceuticals you don't need on the network news broadcasts each evening. Critical thinking is necessary to protect yourself and your loved ones. Dr. John Snow was a Master of critical thinking, a gift to the human race! I have read approximately 2 to 3 books a week all my adult life and seldom read fiction. The best books are often first mentioned in a book I read. Elizabeth Royte's excellent book "Bottlemania" tipped me off to this book. Both are must reads. As stated in Royte's book, "We can live without oil, but not clean water".
Blessings on both authors and all their loved ones! They have served their fellow humans very well!

Engaging, enlightening -- could not put the book down. If you drink water you must educate yourself and read this book. Dr Morris weaves his points with medical research history and brings you to the present conclusion, our water is still not safe, millions still die each year from drinking it. His conclusions inspire you to do something about it locally and globally. Thank you for the references, too. I am inspired to read more about these topics and subtopics.

Robert Morris' book is great for anyone who is interested in issues of drinking water supply and safety. For that reason I give it five stars.

I was puzzled by a major omission. Morris mentions repeatedly that population growth is straining the water supply. Why is there no follow-up on this? In the book's conclusion, Morris makes seven proposals to guard against present and future threats to safe drinking water. Population control does not even appear on the list. It should have been #1. Without population control, most of Morris' proposals either won't be possible or won't work to reduce the problem. If we don't take steps soon to stabilize world population, waterborne disease may well become one of the major Grim Reapers doing it for us.

Morris also discusses how strained municipal and other local government resources are in the U.S., making it difficult to invest in necessary water infrastructure. I would like to point out that a major reason governments are so strained is that in the last few decades a huge percentage of local revenues has gone to automobile infrastructure--roads, highways, parking lots, and the like. America sooner or later needs to rethink its love affair with the automobile. For more on this, see Kunstler's book Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape and Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking.

I've recently finished reading "The Blue Death" which highlights early stuggles against cholera. Throughout this gripping book, I felt a resonance with a book I read as a child in the early 1940's titled "Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. De Kruif's description of Pasteur's struggles with rabies was also compelling...and scary! His book sparked my early interest in science. Perhaps, Dr. Morris' book will do the same for today's young people.Gene Primoff

This book is a great read. It provides an interesting and exciting history of the search to find the cause of cholera. It then goes on to discuss the status of drinking water in the US up to the present. Dr. Morris provides science to the reader in the form of a fast moving novel. I would reccomend it to anyone.

The author is very knowledgeable and gives a thorough background of each herb that he describes. He includes a lot of scientific information, as well as more mystical/spiritual and historical uses of each herbs, giving the book a nice balance. It was recommended to me by a fabulous herbalist and naturopath, and I must say that I'm very glad I listened to her advice as it's one of the best herb books I've seen.

I really enjoyed reading Matthew Wood's herbal book.He weaves a good amount of history with his scientific herbalism.After i read his book,i felt that he was another former modern christian rediscovering his connection with the good Earth.He may have been labeled as a former 'Quasi-Pagan',or seemingly pagan,now a 'true Pagan'.Nevertheless,he presents the global history of the herbs quite well,in relation to what these plants and herbs can do to benefit people.It's an engaging reading that will please any serious herbalist-ethnoscientist.The more you know,the more you will later reap.-Alma Hutchens wrote,'Indian Herbalogy of North America',which has more medical information about 'Native Medicines'.Ms.Hutchens' book does not have a good historical perspective,yet does have many good medicinal antidotes.The bottom line is that any modern ethno-herbalist will more likely enjoy reading Wood's text on the history and uses of homeopathic shamanic botany.

Matthew Wood's book is a must-have for your bedside table and/or bookshelf. It's a serious and studied approach to healing through plants. This book and its contents have made a difference in our lives. Don't hesitate to buy it right away and read it; you won't regret having done so, and will feel better. My health has improved rather quickly, thanks to some of the recommendations made by Wood in this wonderful manual for health.

Matthew Wood is literally a wealth of information. He has done an excellent job of providing information on several different types of herbs with usages, and just good information to have as a ready reference book. The diagrams, while they are not in color, still are excellent. This is one of my useful reference books that I would recommend to anyone who is serious about using herbs in their life.

Matthew Wood brings a variety of his gifts together as writer, historian, herbalist and a man of prodigious memory and herbal storytelling. This book stands out as my favorite herbal reference because it treats each herb to a whole chapter. Any lover of plants knows that there is much more to describe an herb than the usual sort of important lists of information most commonly shared in herbal reference books. This book helps one to get to know these 41 herbs much as you would know a friend or relative in their habits and ways of helping.

I pick up this book over and over simply because it is such good reading and I don't remember everything. If you like to learn through story and beautiful prose, this just may be your book! It fills a very unique niche of herbal literature.

The 41 herbs are quite available in the Midwest habitat and many overlap into other areas.

My only disappointment is that there is not a second volume to cover the many other herbs that didn't fit into the first volume.