Best book on herbs and essential oils?

[southernmama47]

I am interested in educating myself more in herbal and essential oil remedies and need a book, but I'm not sure which one is the best. Suggestions? Thanks!

[tinuviel_k]

I don't use essential oils so I can't help you there. But I do have a TON of herbal books.

I think that having three herbal books is a great idea. I like to have one field guide for identification and wildcrafting purposes (this is super importnt if you plan to gather any of your own remedies), one book that deals with individual herbs and their properties and preparations, and one "remedy" formula book.

My favorite medicinal field guides are by herbalist Michael Moore. If he has one for your bioregion I really recommend getting one. For instance, here is mine:
Medicinal Herbs of the Pacific West, by Michael Moore: http://www.amazon.com/Medicinal-Plants-Pacific-Michael-Moore/dp/1878610317/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1303264113&sr=8-6
If you can't find a book for your region then I really recommend From Earth to Herbalist, by Gregory Tifford: http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Herbalist-Earth-Conscious-Medicinal-Plants/dp/0878423729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303264137&sr=8-1

My favorite general herbal book is Making Plant Medicine, by Richo Cech. The book is very detailed but easy to read. He has wonderful instructions on how to make medicinal teas, herbal oils, salves, tinctures, and more. His descriptions of herbs and their properties is very informative and interesting. Great detail!
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Plant-Medicine-Richo-Cech/dp/0970031203/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303264660&sr=1-1

My favorite "family herbal" that I use for common ailments Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health: 175 Teas, Tonics, Oils, Salves, Tinctures, and Other Natural Remedies for the Entire Family by Rosemary Gladstar
This book is fabulous!
http://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Gladstars-Herbal-Recipes-Vibrant/dp/1603420789/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303264596&sr=1-1

Lastly I REALLY recommend checking out learningherbs.com
This is a fabulous site with lots of free information.

[southernmama47]

Thank you so much! This is the exact info I needed!

[tinuviel_k]

Oh, and I forgot! If you want to share herb-lore with your children you MUST have this book!
A Kids Herb Book for Children of All Ages, by Leslie Tierra
http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Herb-Book-Children-Ages/dp/1885003366/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1303322434&sr=8-3-spell

It is a beautiful herbal with simple and effective recipes, lots of children's remedies, stories, songs, coloring pages, projects, and more.
It focuses on 16 children-safe herbs like lemon balm, mullein, calendula, dandelion, plantain, and licorice. Each herb has a description, pictures, several recipes (teas, foods, baths, steams...), interesting facts, a song with notes and guitar chords, and a beautiful folkloric story.

My daughter loves this book, and i have found it to be so wonderful for her to learn about plant medicine along side me. Her preschool teacher and other parents were always amazed when she'd point out common herbs and tell them what we used them for.
"Oh look! That's plantain! You can use it to help a bee sting. You chew it up and stick it on the sting. But you HAVE to ask a grownup first before you put a wild plant in yur mouth!"
"We made dandelion honey yesterday! And you can eat the leaves but they taste weird. Mama drys out the root and puts it in the oven and it tastes like coffee."
"That's a cottonwood tree. We picked the buds and they were SO sticky and they smell good. We put them in oil and it will be good for skin ouchies."
"We picked nettles and made yummy soup! We dried some to make tea. I like nettle tea with peppermint."

[sunnysandiegan]

I love essential oils. Here are the books I own:

My favorite for recipes is Aromatherapy Through the Seasons by Judith Fitzsimmons and Paula Bousquet (also known as Seasons of Aromatherapy). What I like so much about this book is that it has a completely different tone and approach from my other books. It is a practical usage book... akin to a cookbook! I like simple recipes for therapeutic purposes and this book delivers in a unique and FUN way.

I have three other Aromatherapy books that I use often, also. My first is a general overview with nice pictures and charts (Penny Rich) and includes information on different ways to apply EOs. My second purchase was an A-Z reference manual (Patricia Davis), which focuses on using EOs in massage therapy and describes a lot of EOs. My third is specific to children (Valerie Worwood). I like all four books for different reasons and I refer to them often.

 

[j11j07]

Does anyone here have a personal opinion on The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple by David Stewart?

It sounds great but I can't find objective reviews on it, nor an excerpt to judge by.

If I do wind up getting it, I'll comment about it here.

Cheers, J