I used to have an interest in medicinal herbs, and as such (as I do) I collected books on the subject. This is the result of such collection. I am not a herbalist (or a doctor for that matter) and comments about the books are just me saying what I think. My suggestions: do your own research, make up your own mind and make sure any information you are going to act on is science based.
The Home Herbal – Barbara Griggs – Pan Books (UK) 1982 ISBN 0 330 29355 9 – Slightly larger than the average paperback, it has 176 pages and after a foreword, introduction and a two page ‘About Herbal Medicine’ there are six chapters, a list of herb botanical names and an index. Chapter one talks about how to prepare herbal remedies including infusions, decoctions, poultices, and compresses. Chapter two is a ‘Dos and Don’ts of taking herbal medicines and their safety. Chapter three is over half the book and is an A-Z of ailments and how they may be treated with herbal remedies, covering almost 70 ailments from depression to sore throat. Chapter four covers children’s ailments in a similar fashion (23 ailments, Chapter five covers sources of herbs (UK only) and chapter six (2 pages) lists the requirements for a family herbal medicine cupboard. The book has no photos, and a few line drawings of various plants.
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs – Joseph Kaddans – Arco Publishing Co (US) 1972 ISBN 0 668 02487 9 – This is basically what it says on the tin. After a five page introduction, most of the rest of the book (175 pages) is a series of monographs on medicinal herbs (600+). Most monographs covers botanical name, habitat (worldwide), growth needs, description, parts used, effects, recorded uses and occasionally dosage. Towards the back of the book are 50 pages of the “Herbomatic Locator Index” which is basically a list of ailments, the herbs that can be used to heal that ailment and the page in the book where the herb can be found. Also, written in capitals, the herbs themselves are referred to and the page number. The book has no photos or other illustrations.
The Herb Book – John Lust – Bantam Books (US) 1974 ISBN 0 553 26770 1 – While being the dimensions of a standard paperback, it is almost 700 pages long so contains quite a bit of data. The book has three parts, part one is introductory and talks about herb history, finding and storing herbs, making and using herbal preparations and plants applicable to various conditions. Part two is a compendium of botanical medicinal herbs, consisting of monographs on 514 medicinal plants, each monograph covering the common names, medicinal part of the plant, description, properties and uses, and preparation and dosage with an index at the back of this part. Part three discusses how to prepare and combine the herbs listed in part two to assist with particular ailments as well as sections on using them to make drinks, cosmetics, scents and dyes. The book has not photos or illustrations.
What Herbs are all about – Jack Joseph Challem & Renate Lewin-Challem – Keats Publishing Inc. (US) 1980 ISBN 0 87983 204 5 – This book is similar to the previous two above but at 150 pages, has much less detail. The book is divided into three parts, the first part being introductory and talking about history of herbal medicine, obtaining and using herbs and herbs today. Part two is a series of monographs on 91 individual plants, each monograph covering what the herb is, what it looks like and how to use it. Part three is a quick reference guide to which herbs can be used for 94 specific illnesses. The centre of the book has fifteen pages of drawings of common herbs, with four herbs per page.
The Illustrated Herbal Handbook – Juliette de Bairacli Levy – Faber and Faber (UK) 1974 ISBN 0 571 11894 1 – From what I have read, this book and the next seem to be classics in the field. After a short introduction, the book has four chapters followed by a conclusion. Chapter two discusses gathering, preparing and preserving herbs, chapter three (almost half the book) is a herbal materia medica covering over two hundred herbs, each monograph gives the Latin name and describes the herb including where it grows, followed by that it is used for and the dosage. Chapter four provides medicinal, cosmetic and culinary herbal recipes including beverages, and chapter five discusses how herbs can be used in garden and orchard. Ther are sixteen pages throughout the book of line drawings illustrating a number of herbs per page.
The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable - Juliette de Bairacli Levy – Faber and Faber (UK) 1952 ISBN 0 571 13205 7 – This book has eleven chapters including an introduction and conclusion, with 383 pages, compared to 224 pages in the previous Illustrated Herbal. The book has eleven chapters including an introduction and a conclusion. Chapter two covers gathering and preparing medicinal herbs and chapter three is a 130 page herbal materia medica. Chapters four to nine describe herbal treatments for sheep, goats, cows, horses, poultry and sheep-dogs respectively. Chapter ten is five pages covering natural care of bees. There are two appendices, the first one giving descriptions of herbs mentioned in the book and the second one providing herb suppliers in Australia, Canada and the US, although the list would be pretty much out of date today. The book has no illustrations.
The Elements of Herbalism – David Hoffman – Element Books (UK) 1990 ISBN 1 85230 173 2 – This is not a book about a whole stack of herbs and how to use them (although there is some of that) but overall is more about the ‘what, where and why’ of herbalism. The book has six chapters, chapter one is about what herbs and herbalism is, if it is complementary, alternative or orthodox and the international context of herbalism. Chapter two asks the question do herbs work, and talks about various herb components, it does provide some references to back their points. Chapter three discusses how to choose the right herb, assessing the herbs impact and using herbs within the context of a therapeutic system. Chapter four discusses healing possibilities of herbs in the digestive system, nervous system and regarding inflammation and arthritis. Chapter fix talks about personal care with herbs including the home herbal medicine chest, infection and immunity and healing remedies in the kitchen. Chapter six discusses how to prepare herbs so that they work. There are a few line drawings in the book and no photos.
The Spotter’s Guide to Healing Plants – Dr Jaroslav Kresanek – Byeway Books (UK) 1982 ISBN 0 94659 313 2 – This book was originally written and published in Czechoslovakia. The book has four chapters, the first chapter uses a couple of pages about plants in general and the second chapter talks about medicinal plants, including medicinal properties, collecting them, drying them. Storing sorting and packaging them and cultivating them. The third chapter talks about the origin of natural medicine including active constituents, plant medicine, preparation of plant ‘medicaments’ recipes for herbal mixtures and a list of medicinal plants according to their therapeutic uses. The fourth chapter (almost 180 pages worth) has 88 monographs on medicinal plants, Each monograph provides information on the names, botanical description, habitat, how to collect medicinal parts, drying, cultivation, active constituents, efficacy, use and dosage as well as a colour line drawing of the plant.
Herbal Treatments for Common Ailments – Gregory Ah Ket – Lloyd O’Neill Pty Ltd (AUS) 1986 ISBN 085550 772 1 – The book has three sections, Section one is entitled ‘basic principles’ and covers how herbs work, how they are prepared and their doses and a series of cautionary notes on herb use covering such subjects as duration of treatment, use of herbs for children and collecting wild herbs. Section two, called just ‘Herbs’ is a series of monographs covering 54 herbs listing the effect the herbs have, bodily systems affected, preparation and dosage, a discussion of the herb in general including history and usage, and a line drawing of the plant. Section three, entitled ‘Remedies’ lists herbal remedies for various problems including colds and flu; headache and pain; digestive problems; female problems; heart and circulation; kidneys and bladder; nerves, stress and insomnia; pregnancy and childbirth; respiratory problems and skin problems. There are a couple of pages at the end about harvesting, drying and storing herbs. Apart from the drawings of herbs, there are no illustrations.
Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies – Penny Woodward – Hyland House Publishing (AUS) 2003 (reprinted 2014) ISBN 978 1 86447 082 8 – This is a great book with lots of information that relates to the Australian experience. The book has four sections, section one is comparatively short, providing an alphabetical list of ailments and then detailing which herbs would help those ailments. Section two, which takes up well over half the book, is a series of monographs on the herbs mentioned in section one. Each monograph describes what the herb looks like Including a colour photo), how it should be sown, grown and harvested, some history, what remedies the herb is part of and how to prepare them, along with a notation of any warnings about the use of the herb. Section three provides general information and procedures on how to prepare herbal remedies. Chapter four provides general information on sowing, growing and harvesting medicinal herbs. There are lots of colour photos.
The How To Herb Book – Velma J. Keith & Monteen Gordon – Mayfield Publications (US) 1984 ISBN 0 9617825 0 1 – While the title of the book would lead one to think it is just about herbs, other subjects are covered and I am unsure how much is science based. The book has thirteen chapters, chapter one being about herbs, covers how they work, types and individual herbs listing what they do, what their components are and what ailments they have been used as remedies for. Chapter two covers tinctures and herbal combinations in tinctures. Chapter four relates to vitamins and minerals and chapter four (entitled ‘This and That’ covers various herbs and other remedies. Chapter five discusses cleansing diets and fasting, chapter six covers enemas, Chapter seven covers use of herbs during pregnancy, and chapter eight covers use of herbs with babies. Chapter nine covers ailments and remedies vitamins and minerals, exercise and herbal remedies for specific ailments. Chapter ten covers how to compound herbal preparations and recipes in general terms, chapter eleven is entitled ‘Survival or Years’ Supply’ Chapter twelve ‘Exercise’ and Chapter 13 ‘Positive Power’. There are no illustrations.
Handmade Medicines – Christopher Hobbs – Interweave Press (US) 1998 ISBN 1 883010 50 0 – This is a small book but has lots of good information. Chapter one provides some history on medicinal herbs, chapter two, why herbs work, provides general information on herbs, safety of herbs and preparing a herbal medicine chest. Chapter three talks about finding medicinal herbs including growing your own, wild herbs and purchasing herbs, including a list of herbs best bought in due to their specific growing conditions (US Info). Chapter four covers equipment needed and techniques for making herbal preparations in general and chapter five (about half the book) provides recipes for making specific remedies. There is a table in the back providing ratios of herbs to solvents for making tinctures. The book has a few colour photos.
The Home Herbal – Barbara Griggs – Jill Norman and Hobhouse Ltd. (UK) 1982 ISBN 0 906908 91 4 – After an introduction talking about the author’s experience with herbs, the book starts out with a couple of pages talking about herbal medicine in general (and not to make up things yourself, that is for experts) then goes on to describe the mechanics of making herbal medicines in general and is followed by some dos and don’ts around taking herbal medicines. Most of the rest of the book (75%) is then taken up with an alphabetical list of ailments and how herbs may be used to treat them. After this there are a few pages on where to get herbs (UK), a couple of pages on the contents of the family medicine cupboard and a list of the botanical names of the herbs referred to in the text. There are no illustrations in the book.
Hypericum – Andrew Chevallier – Souvenir Press (UK) 1999 ISBN 0 285 63487 9 – This book is part of the ‘Nature’s Remedies’ series totalling eight books (including this one) each book dealing with a single herb (except for the one that put Ginko and garlic together!). This one covers Hypericum, also referred to as St Johns Wort. The first chapter gives some history of use of the herb, chapter two talks about growing, processing and preserving the hypericum plant and chapter three talks about hypericum as a herbal antidepressant. Chapter four talks about the use of hypericum with viral infections and chapter five the use of hypericum as a wound and tissue healer. Chapter six talks about hypericum in history, chapter seven talks about the use of hypericum in Western Herbal Medicine and chapter eight talks in detail about how hypericum is prepared and used for various ailments. Chapter nine discusses the future of hypericum. The book has no illustrations.
Wild Medicine in Australia – A.B. & J.W. Cribb – William Collins P/L (AUS) 1981 ISBN 0 00 216446 9 – This is one of the very few books that I have come across which focusses on Australian native herbal remedies. Chapter one talks about Australian herbal plants in general, where their greatest concentration is and provides some history of their use. The remaining chapters provide information on plants using the same format states in which the herbs occur, what they were used for and how they were prepared. Chapter two – the aboriginal pharmacopoeia – provides information on individual plants and species that the aboriginals used for curative purposes, Chapter three provides similar information for plants that were used by the European settlers to treat illness and injury. Chapter four provides information on European herbal plants that have been introduced into Australia Chapter five discusses herbal plants that have been introduced into Australia by non-European cultures such as Malaysia, India and Indonesia. Chapter six rather than covering plants used for healing, covers plants used for pleasure: narcotics and aphrodisiacs. Chapter seven covers Australian plants that may be useful for modern medicine and chapter eight covers non-herbal treatment from natural sources. There are colour plates scattered throughout the book.
Modern Ailments, Ancient Remedies – Gillian Kerr & Dr Yvonne Bloomfield – Lansdowne Press (AUS) 2000 ISBN 978 1 86302 646 8 – The book has three main sections after and introduction covering the properties of herbs and herbal wisdom. The first section is a series of 34 monographs covering an A-Z of herbal remedies. Each monograph gives the Latin and common names, a general introduction to the herb, its description, history, modern uses and available forms (ie tablets, capsules, extracts etc.) and a colour illustration (drawn or photo) of the herb referred to. The second section talks about other ancient remedies for modern ailments such as food and nutrition, massage, cleansing and yoga. The fourth section is an A-Z of 43 modern ailments. Each ailment is given a page and starts with a general introduction to the ailment, symptoms, treatment, herbal treatment and other useful natural remedies. Most illustrations are restricted to the herbal A-Z with a couple of colour photos elsewhere.
Herbs for Health – John & Rosemary Hemphill – Lansdowne Press (AUS) 1986 ISBN 0 7018 1923 5 – The Hemphill’s seem to be better known for their books on culinary herbs and having said that there is a proportion of this book where the culinary uses of herbs are also included. The book starts out with the history of herbs, then goes on to herb gardens, their history and suggestions for themed herb gardens, how to sow and propagate herbs, companion planting, harvesting and drying herbs. The next section, all about herbs, takes up about half the book and is composed of 30 monographs on herbs one to two pages long. Each monograph gives a general introduction on how to grow the herb and uses, both culinary and medicinal. This is followed by short sections of a few pages each covering herbs as medicine, herb teas and beverages, herbs for beauty, herbs as gifts and cooking with herbs. There are lots of small decorative colour drawings.
Handbook of Herbs – Nerys Purchon – Hodder Headline P/L (AUS) 2002 ISBN 0 7336 1572 4 – This is quite a large book at just over 400 pages long. After an introduction there is a short section on getting to know the herbs and talking about how plants are named, followed by an A to Z of herbs with monographs covering 80 herbs covering a description, what the herb is used for and how it is grown. This is followed by a section on growing harvesting and storing herbs followed by the herbal pharmacy describing the equipment needed, glossary of medical terms and an A to Z of techniques for applying the herbs. The next section, entitled ‘Remedies’ gives an A to Z of ailments and which herbs can be used to treat them as well as notations on women’s health and putting together a herbal first aid kit. The next section details skin care, the equipment needed to make products, terms used, herbs used and a series of recipes. The following section treats aromatherapy in a similar fashion and the final section covers cooking with herbs including vinegars, flavoured oils and herbal teas. The book has no illustrations.
Grow Your Own Drugs – James Wong – Harper Collins Publishers (UK) 2010 ISBN 978 0 00 734530 4 – I loved watching this series when it came out back in the day, so I bought the book. There are some episodes available on YouTube. The book has five parts, part one is a short introduction by James Wong, Part two talks about the basics of growing and making herbal remedies, covering your garden’s microclimate and soil, organic fertilisers and garden maintenance, followed by how to identify the needs of your ailment(s), and general instructions on making and storing various types of remedies (eg decoctions, oils creams etc). Part three talks about how to make specific remedies for specific ailments, based around these categories: dermatological, digestive, immune system, respiratory, muscular and joints, emotional, hormonal and headaches, cosmetic, kids and herbs for the home and pets. Part five discusses the growing of herbal drugs throughout the year, grouped around the seasons (UK). Part five is the non-gardeners guide to foraging and buying plants and stockists (UK). The book has lots of colour photos!
Australian Medicinal Plants – E.V. Lassak & T. McCarthy – Methuen (AUS) 1983 ISBN 1 86330 061 9 – This book has ten chapters, the first being introductory notes and observations by the author. The following seven chapters address action of native plants or ailments they can be used to treat. After an introductory page or two, the rest of each chapter is made up of a series of monographs about individual plants, each monograph provides the name of the plant, the plant family, synonyms, vernacular names, description, habitat and distribution, medicinal uses and active constituents. Chapters two through eight are respectively: narcotics and pain killers; headaches, colds and fevers; tonics; antiseptics and bactericides; skin disorders; digestion and elimination; miscellaneous cures. Chapter nine, the introduction asks the question are the plants more myth than medicine, then discusses various cases for and against and provides more plant monographs. Chapter ten discusses the medical plant industry and then provides monographs of plants used in the industry. There are a number of colour plates distributed throughout the book and a few line drawings.
The New Honest Herbal – Varro E. Tyler – George F. Stickley Company (US) 1982 ISBN 0 89313 078 8 - This book provides a balanced and critical look at popular herbal remedies, offering both the positive and negative aspects of their use and is written for the general public rather than just herbalists or other experts in the field. The book has three main chapters, chapter one being a look at the pros and cons of herbal remedies in general and provides some history to their use. Chapter two discusses laws and regulations around the control of herbal remedies and their general lack of effect (at the time and in the US). Chapter three, titled ‘Herbs and Related Remedies’ is a series of 112 monographs on specific or groups of remedies, discussing what the plant is, what its purported effects are and then what research has been done to confirm or deny these effects. In the back of the book is an index/summarised evaluation of herbal remedies, listing the common name of the plant, its source, the part used, principal uses, a rating of its apparent efficacy and a rating of its probable safety. The book has no illustrations.
Natural First Aid – Brigitte Mars – Storey Books (US) 1999 ISBN 978 1 58017 147 8 – While there is good information here, the books focus on the non-scientific homeopathic remedies is a concern. The book starts off with a discussion of ‘First aid techniques everyone should know’ including CPR, the Heimlich manoeuvre, bandaging limbs, applying splints and slings, the recovery position, moving the injured and using homeopathic medicines. Good information, but personally I would not count on learning CPR from a book! This is followed by an A to Z of ailments and injuries, covering at-home first aid and household remedies, herbal remedies homeopathic remedies, follow up care, and prevention. Part three is titled ‘Surviving Natures Challenges’, providing tips and techniques for emergencies including avalanche, bear attack (US), car accidents and childbirth. The next section provides information on building your own first aid kit including herbs and chapter five talks about how to make and use herbal remedies – tinctures, poultices, compresses etc. The book has a few line drawings.
