Any Good Herb Books?

[Chosen-frozen]

Can anyone reccomend any good books on Chinese medicine , especially herbal medicine, in English? I`m a complete newbie.
I`ve read Tom Bisio`s "A Tooth From The Tiger`s Mouth" and "The Warrior As Healer", but I don`t know whwere to look after that.
Thanks

[Dale Dugas]

If you are serious you need to get a copy of Dan Bensky's Chinese Materia Medica, that is the textbook for most Oriental Medical schools department of herbs here in the states.

[Piercinghammer]

I am fond of Michael Tierra's books. Very readable for the beginner and useful. I also like The Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica-Crude and Prepared
by Kun-Ying Yen. Alot of really nice photo's and descriptions that would be helpful to the novice.



Mike Biggie

[PlumDragon]

Gambles Materia Medica seems to be the standard but I prefer Chen & Chens "Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology". It comes down to personal preference but I find Chens work to be a bit more scientific and reference-oriented while Benskys might have a bit more traditional rationale for actions/properties. Chens will run you a bit more but they are both worth every penny.

Captchuks "The Web That Has No Weaver". A bit dense, poetic and abstract your first time reading it, but will arm you with discussion on some basic ideas that you need. Like Dale said, having a Materia Medica is tantamount if you are serious, but you need to learn about what each of the herbal categories are and why theyre organized the way they are. The Web (as well as the books below) can help you with that. As soon as you have built that structure in your head, learning about new herbs is a piece of cake...You know the coordinate system, just plot the points.



I am fond of Michael Tierra's books.I second that. Tierra has some great books. His 2-book volume "Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine" is a good resource. I still carry that little Materia Medica (Volume 2) around as a quick reference.

[Chosen-frozen]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. It`s great to have an opinion from someone with more experience so I have an idea where to begin.

[NJM]

As those above have said, Michael Tierra's books are great, especially for overviews and summaries.

May I also reccomend for your use once you've learned the basics: Practical Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology
http://www.wle.com//products/b637.html


Also, despite the fact that it doesn't focus on Chinese herbs too much, I believe it is necessary for every herbalist to own a copy of the Herb Book by John Lust: http://www.amazon.com/Herb-Book-John-B-Lust/dp/0879040556/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9230050-3535825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182292095&sr=8-1

[jow yeroc]

I'm not at home right now but i've got a great book with big color pictures
and lots of info and formulas. I believe the authors name is Stephen Chmelik,
or sum'n like that and the name of the tome is Chinese Herbal Secrets. Good
book, check it out.

[lhommedieu]

Tom Bisio and Frank Butler) also have a Tui Na book that's just been published and will be available August 1.

Bensky and Gamble sets a pretty high standard. Keep in mind that this a large two-volume set: Vol. 1 describes approximately 400 individual herbs (and lists some combinations) according to traditional Chinese herbal properties, and Vol. 2 lists hundreds of standard herbal formulas according to TCM patterns. I also think that it's been reedited and republished within the past year or so.

If you've just finished Tom's book then you might want a "bridge book" before taking on Bensky and Gamble. Daniel Reid's "Chinese Herbal Medicine" is a good start as it's basic and easy to understand. It's also well packaged and designed and has good illustrations. However, although it provides an overview of Chinese Medical herbology, it does not go into any great detail with respect to TCM theory, so you may want to combine it with Kapchuk's Web that has no Weaver. I think it also has a chapter on Hong Yi Xiang, who was Tom Bisio's teacher's teacher and upon whose kind of practice A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth is based.

You may also want to look at the Zheng Gu herbal section at Kamwo Herbs (www.kamwo.com) as they list the ingredients for their products. Comparing them against Bensky and Gamble will give you a rough idea of how Die Da herbal formulas are constructed.

Best,

Steve Lamade