The Alternative Health & Medicine Encyclopedia 1 - Hardcover

Marti, James; Hine, Andrea

9780810395800: The Alternative Health & Medicine Encyclopedia 1

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810395800 ISBN 13: 9780810395800

Publisher: Gale / Cengage Learning, 1995

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From Booklist:

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that more than one-third of the American population preferred alternative medical treatments over conventional methods. There is now an Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. This widespread interest in nontraditional health care has created a need for objective information about disciplines in this field. The Alternative Health & Medicine Encyclopedia provides a good introduction to this subject.

With a medical advisory board of well-known experts, including Dana Ullman, Andrew T. Weil, Gary Lindsey, and Yan-Chi Lin, the authors present material on alternative therapies, nutrition, botanical medicines, stress, exercise, and treatments for common ailments. They also discuss alternative treatments for cancer, heart disease, mental illness, and substance abuse. They emphasize patient participation in choosing practitioners and therapies and using alternative methods in conjunction with traditional medicine in the treatment of serious diseases.

Each chapter contains an overview of the subject followed by sections offering more detailed information on the major points. Fact boxes highlight key ideas. Chapters conclude with a summary, bibliography, and referral list of organizations. The last chapter is an interesting discussion of the future of alternative medicine by members of the advisory board. A glossary, general bibliography, and index complete the book.

Although it is less detailed then Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide [RBB Ap 15 94] and libraries owning that book do not need to purchase this new one, The Alternative Health & Medicine Encyclopedia provides current, objective information that will help people make decisions about their health. It is a good choice for most collections.

From Library Journal:

Written in an engaging style, this introduction to alternative medicine is designed to be browsed. The first chapter introduces over 20 types of therapies, including acupuncture, yoga, biofeedback, massage, homeopathy, chiropractic, and hypnosis. Subsequent chapters deal with issues from nutrition to drugs to cancer. Each chapter is a magazine-style essay providing an abundance of information and statistics, along with a subject bibliography and lists of organizations and resources. The layout is attractive, and the comprehensive index is arranged to allow for quick access to information. As a collection of essays, this provides a good general overview of topics, but the coverage is lacking in depth and inconsistent in breadth (two chapters, about a tenth of the text, are devoted to stress, while childhood diseases are not discussed at all). The usefulness of the chapter bibliographies for the general reader is questionable (the bulk of articles referenced are either from obscure medical journals or obscure California newspapers). It's good reading and it's well researched, but it's not comprehensive-at least not enough to be called an encyclopedia. For alternative health collections. [For more books on alternative medicine, including some comprehensive resources, see "Alternative Medicine Goes Mainstream," LJ 8/94, p. 51-55.-Ed.]-Valerie Vaughan, Western Massachusetts Regional Lib., Hatfiel.
--Valerie Vaughan, Western Massachusetts Regional Lib., Hatfield
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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