This isn’t quite what I was looking for as a reference guide to herbal remedies. As someone who has a passing interest in the topic, I found this handbook to be not so user friendly for beginners such as myself; others with more knowledge may find it more useful. The plant profiles were listed A-Z by Latin name; listing them alphabetically by common name would have made this reference book easier to use. I don’t know how many people know the Latin names off the top of their head, even the serious herbalists may not be familiar with many of them.
The bulk of the book is the plant profiles which I found helpful as a very general overview. The remedies section was much shorter than I expected, basically just listing conditions, a few herbs to potentially treat each, and then referring the reader back to the plant profile for said herbs. I did read about the treatments for migraines, but no information is given on that page as to how much to take of the suggested herb. For example, the dosage information for feverfew tells me I can take it as a tablet, capsule, or one small fresh leaf a day and also refers me back to the dosage and sensible use section of the book. It seems that much of the use guidelines are to follow manufacturer’s recommended dosage. I didn’t like that as I know that many herbal treatments can be purchased in varying milligrams and often the bottle does not contain information on how much to use to treat this or that particular condition. Melatonin is a very good example of this, you can find it in varying milligrams and 300 mcg is a lot different than 300 mg. I wanted this book to tell me how many mg to take to help with sleep issues and then leave it to me to find the right product that would meet the appropriate dose guidelines. Instead, it seems I am to find the herb to treat my medical issue, follow the instructions on the package, and hope for the best. I may end up taking too little or too much, which doesn’t seem like sensible use at all.
It’s hard to rate this one as like I said this wasn’t quite what I was looking for in terms of content and usefulness. I have read many of the travel guides by this publisher and always found them to be excellent resources and the content here seems like it could be useful to the right person. But for someone new to herbal remedies, you may get just as useful or better information from your local health and wellness store employee. If you are new to or not very experienced in herbal remedies, I recommend supplementing this handbook with other resources to better round out your knowledge of potential treatment options. I will give this 3 stars but others, especially more experienced herbalists, may rate this higher.