I first purchased this book in 1995, at its first publishing. I instantly became a devotee of Andrew Weil, MD. I got the feeling, as I read the book that he genuninely CARES and is NOT only writing books and giving lectures for the money. When I tried some of his suggestions, and saw AMAZING improvement in my own health, I became a true believer - with a testimony! Weil has had an interesting career: he spent quite some time in the Amazon rainforests with native peoples and Shamans there, and experimented with MANY types of herbs and plants (some of which were hallucinogenic!), all in an effort to find some answers to the illnesses that plague western society. His advice mixes Western medicine, with Asian/Eastern medical belief systems and herbs, and South American herbology. A wonderful book, and a book that given to an ill person, will give them HOPE. ( )

Very structured presentation of natural healing processes with lots of anecdotal evidence. The guide to common herbs and alternative medicine options towards the end of the book makes for a great reference. It's worth internalizing the knowledge contained in the book. ( )