- Hardcover: 545 pages
- Publisher: Rodale Pr (July 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0878576991
- ISBN-13: 978-0878576999
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 19 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,146,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Conservative, alphabetical reference for the most common, useful herbs. Includes history, safety, cultivation, medicinal, and culinary uses for each. Includes special chapters on healing, cooking and gardening with herbs as well as toxicity as compared to caffeine. Color and black & white pictures, highly recommended and often consulted; one of the best.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
this book is great for experienced herbalist and the beginner. It covers medicinal properties and folklore.You get growing info and culinary suggestions. This book also gives craft ideas and dyeing properties. It lets you know what's safe and what's not.Great reference book to have on hand.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
33 reviews
83 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Excellent resource....
4 Nov 2000
Format:Paperback
No matter how hard I search, I've yet to find the "perfect" book on herb use and herb growing. This book isn't perfect, but it does have some real strengths.
Rodale's ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBS is organized in a strange way--everything, and I mean everything--falls into alphabetical order. For example, "Gardening with Herbs falls between "Foxgloves" and "Garlic" and "Growing Herbs" falls between "Grindellia" and "Hawthorn."
The book is printed on semi-gloss paper so it will stand up to use and not crumble in a few years. Each entry contains line drawing illustrations and a few sections of the book are highlighted with color photos.
The plant profiles are succinct, covering topics such as 'history', 'cultivation' and 'uses.' Many entries contain material from other sources such as Maud Grieves' A MODERN HERBAL Vols. 1-2. Some information is repeated without attribution or verification. I always find "They say" and "It is thought" offputting, while I appreciate direct citations of which there are many in this book.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA covers some topics not readily found in other books. The most useful of these is a compendium discussing the "Dangers of Herbs" (located between "Dandelion" and "Deadly Nightshade." The editors have compiled the FDA listing of "tricky" herbs (could kill or cure depending on use) from PREVENTION magazine, as well as similar ratings from James Duke's CRC HANDBOOK OF MEDICINAL HERBS, Jean Rose's HERBS AND THINGS, and Varro Tyler's THE HONEST HERBAL. You realize on reading this section that everything is relative.
The biggest problem with the misuse of herbal remedies is the misclassification of plants by the practicioner. To be an herbal healer one simply must understand botany. The second biggest problem is conflicting information about what a plant will or will not do based on singular accounts (which could be the result of a misclassification of plants or a misapplication of the plant extract). The third problem is idiosyncratic plant and human interaction. One man's poison can be another man's elixer. As with synthetic drugs, each individual has a unique chemical compostion and the herb in question may or may not be effective, or in some cases may provoke an allergy. Of course, there are some herbs that are downright deadly as every mystery reader knows.
This wouldn't be a Rodale book with out a section on "Pests" and "Pest Control" or the synergistic and conflicting effects of various plant combinations in the garden. This information and the sections on poisonous attributes make the book worth it's cost. All I can say about plant combinations can be summed up to this...plant catnip. You'll have to read the book to find out which kind.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Excellent reference for novice and experienced herbalists.
18 July 1998
Format:Paperback
Conservative, alphabetical reference for the most common, useful herbs. Includes history, safety, cultivation, medicinal, and culinary uses for each. Includes special chapters on healing, cooking and gardening with herbs as well as toxicity as compared to caffeine. Color and black & white pictures, highly recommended and often consulted; one of the best.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
best book on herbs i have found
11 Nov 1999
Format:Paperback
This book covers all the bases: harvesting, storing, cooking, sachets, medicinal uses.... on and on. I've used mine so much it is falling apart! I bought this book years ago for over $26 and it was worth it then! Its a steal now!
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