Herbert M. Shelton wrote his best books during his mature years, after 1940. The second edition of this book dates from 1978, so the reader gets the benefit of his decades of experience supervising tens of thousands of fasters.

He covers all the obvious angles: why to fast, where and when to fast, what to expect during a fast, when and how to break a fast. The safety of fasting. Who should fast? Should children fast? Should underweight people fast? Should pregnant women fast? The difference between hunger and appetite. Then, in separate chapters, he discusses various acute and chronic conditions that can be resolved by fasting: from arthritis and asthma to gallstones and tumors. From hay fever to heart disease, and others.

There is no more reliable source of advice on fasting than Herbert M. Shelton. He makes sense, basing his arguments on logic and sound science, not on testimonials. Recommended. ( )