Good books on chinese medicine?

[Kymus]

I wanted to get into chinese medicine and learn a LOT more about it. I am a strong believer in it, but at the same time, I dunno much about it :-D. I was looking at some books on Amazon.com and here's what I found that looked good:

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive System for Health and Fitness
by Tom Williams
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The American Association of Oriental Medicine's Complete Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine: How to Treat Illness and Maintain Wellness With Chinese Herbs
by David Molony, the American Association of Accupuncture Original and Oriental Medicin, Ming Ming Pan Molony, American Association of Oriental Medicine, Nancy Burke (Contributor), Cassio Lynm (Illustrator)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Chinese Herbal Medicine Made Easy: Effective and Natural Remedies for Common Illnesses
by Thomas Richard Joiner
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e=ATVPDKIKX0DER

70 Essential Chinese Herbal Formulas
by Bob Flaws
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Shaolin Secret Formulas for the Treatment of External Injury
by Monk De Qian, Ting-Liang Zhang (Translator), Bob Flaws (Translator), De Qian, Te-Ch'an
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...e=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Could anyone comment on any of these books? Is there anyone in specific you'd reccomend, or anything that I didn't list here that you'd reccomend?

[Repulsive Monkey]

I would avoid all the Bob Flaws books until you have a grounding in fundamentals and to be honest there is only one real book that will do that for you:

The Web that has no Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk.

This book aloine will gear you up with ther traditional and modern insights into the fundamental basics aswell as give you masses of valuable info on diagnosis and symptoms based observations. It trully is the only book you need if you really want to understand Chinese Medicine.

[ntc]

Originally posted by Repulsive Monkey
The Web that has no Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk.



Good recommendation. Another one is " Between Heaven and Earth" (not sure who the author is), but it does a wonderful job doing a comparative analogy between Eastern and Western medicine.

The Shaolin forumla book is excellent for trauma injuries, but you really need to know what you are doing to use the herbs. Definitely not for the novice.... some of the herbs in the formula are also difficult to obtain.