Matthew Wood (1) (1954–)

Vitalism is the belief that the body is animated by a life force and that medicine works best if it stimulates the life force.This book is an interesting survey of medical practitioners through the ages who discovered means to work with the life force. The author presents brief biographies of various practitioners and a description of their methods and philosophies. He argues that a too doctrinaire adherence to any one set of methods is detrimental.

I used this for Rosemary Gladstar's course. I'll need to come back and spend more time with this as it's pretty deep.

This book is a comprehensive guide to non-toxic North American herbs. People who already have a lot of knowledge and experience with herbs will get the most benefit from this book. Some of it will be 'over the head' of the novice. This book is laid out like an encyclopedia, alphabetical by herb name. If you want to look up herbs that help with a specific condition, there is an alphabetical index of health conditions in the back. Each herb is described, including the taste and dosage to try. show more There is also a list of conditions (physical and emotional) that are helped by the herb. Sometimes a sketch of the herb is included, and at times the story of a patient who benefited from the herb is added. I found this book to be useful. I only wish there were more pictures or sketches included! show less

Very detailed information and a good reference on herb energetics.