The Essential Guide to Home Herbal Remedies: Easy Recipes Using Medicinal Herbs to Treat More Than 125 Conditions from Sunburns to Sore Throats

So-called "essential guides" don't always prove to be all that essential, but Wenzel's certainly does. With a winning combination of clear explanations, beautiful photos, and a neat, eye-pleasing set up, she's produced an ideal home remedies book for beginners. The book starts with the history of herbal medicine%E2%80%94which goes back to ancient times, according to Wenzel %E2%80%94 then segues into the basics of what Wenzel calls the green pharmacy. She discusses the different forms of natural medicines such as teas, poultices, herbal baths and more. Recipes are divided into categories by age, stage and complaint types, including kids, teens, men, women, the elderly, pregnancy, stress and coughs and colds. Each recipe details the ingredients and tools required, and includes instructions on doses, applications and storage. An A to Z guide of important herbs explains what each herb looks like, what part is used, what it's used for and what science thinks about it. This is not for hippies (although hippies would certainly enjoy it); it's for anyone who's interested in natural medicine, home doctoring, plants, or simply getting rid of stubborn acne. Wenzel has a recipe for everyone. (Sept.)