Showing posts with label James A. Duke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James A. Duke. Show all posts

11/16/2009

Review of Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible (Hardcover)

Plants are referred to and referenced throughout the books, poetry, and letters that comprise the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. "Duke's handbook Of Medicinal Plants Of The Bible" is a 528-page compendium of superbly organized and presented information on biblical plants that provides both academicians and non-specialist general readers with a complete, descriptive listing of the herbs that, based on citations, scholars and ethnobotanists feel were utilized by the people of the biblical era. Enhanced with an evidence-based scoring system for these plants, "Duke's Handbook Of Medicinal Plants Of The Bible" compares and contrasts citations from different versions of the Bible, presents multilingual nomenclatures providing historical and geographic roots for each featured entry, and even covers dosages that have been used historical for various human and animal ailments. Superbly enhanced with full color drawings of individual plants, each specific entry provides family line information, synonyms, notes, common names, activities, indications, dosages, dosages, downsides and interactions, natural history and extracts. Biblical quotations are provided from various translations of the bible from the King James version to the Revised Standard edition -- along with comments on points of interest. A superb writer and expert, James A. Duke (with the assistance and collaboration of Peggy-Ann K. Duke and Judith L. duCellier) has provided a seminal and invaluable contribution that should be a part of every academic library reference collection, as well as on the supplemental reading lists for students of herbal medicine, alternative medicine, botany, and biblical studies.



Product Description
Readers have come to depend on Jim Duke's comprehensive handbooks for their ease of use and artful presentation of scientific information. Following the successful format of his other CRC handbooks, Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible contains 150 herbs listed alphabetically and by scientific name. Each entry provides illustrations of the plant, family line information, synonyms, notes, common names, activities, indications, dosages, downsides and interactions, natural history, and extracts. This comprehensive text also includes Biblical quotes from various translations, such as the King James version and Revised Standard edition, along with comments on points of interest.



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10/19/2009

Review of A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series) (Paperback)

Here is everything that a field guide should be and contain--small enough to stick into a pocket but comprehensive, definitive, dependable and well-illustrated. Pictures, descriptions, locations, uses, warnings. Fosteris not only an herbalist of the first rank but one of the finest plantphotographers out there clicking. His gorgeous Healing Plants calendar ison my wall; the verdant photos provide daily pleasure.Herbal preparationsas alternatives to synthetic drugs are increasingly chosen. St. John's Wortfor depression, Saw Palmetto for prostate treatment, Goldenseal for amultitude of symptoms. Not typically thought of as herbs, trees are also apart of our living pharmacy and 66 are included here. Ginkgolides extractedfrom leaves of the Ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba) are the best-selling herbalpreparation in Europe. Aspirin derives from the willow. Amongst shrubs Ilearned that Hawthorn leaf and flower preparations are used in Germany totreat congestive heart failure, based on at least 14 controlled clinicalstudies. With increasing usage, many plants are in danger of beingoverharvested. Conservation is necessary to preserve a viable naturalcommunity of plants that can and may help alleviate human suffering.Stopping plant thieves is a law enforcement challenge but easyidentification of plants may save others of us from bulldozing a patch ofginseng for a house site. It is noted that Pale Purple Coneflower(Echinacea pallida) "is common in eastern Kansas but it is very rare inwestern North Carolina at the eastern extreme of its range. The plant mightbe judiciously harvested in Kansas, but in North Carolina it should be leftalone." More than just a field guide, Medicinal Plants and Herbs is anessential reference book for our personal library. The value of this biglittle book can hardly be overestimated.

Product Description
With more than 300 photos, this new edition shows how to identify more than 500 healing plants. Descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found, as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics, symbols next to plant descriptions, and organization of plants by colors all make this an essential guide to understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants around us. At a time when interest in herbs and natural medicine has never been higher, the second edition of this essential guide shows how to identify more than five hundred kinds of healing plants. More than three hundred new color photos illustrate their flowers, leaves, and fruits. The updated descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics is helpful for quickly locating information on specific ailments, from asthma and headaches to colds and stomachaches. Symbols next to plant descriptions give readers a quick visual alert to plants that are poisonous or may cause allergic reactions. Organized by plant color for fast identification, this guide is an indispensable tool for understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants and herbs around us.

About the Author
James A. Duke (born 1929) is an American botanist. He is known for his numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. He is notable for developing the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at the USDA.


James "Jim" A. Duke, Ph.D was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his doctorate in botany from the University of North Carolina in 1961.

Steven Foster has written numerous books and magazine articles on the medicinal use of herbs. He is the coauthor of the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America.

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world"s greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.



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