“Holy Herbs
Modern connections to ancient plants”
What an erudite and interesting reference book this is.
For anyone curious about the history and origins, the uses and the science of herbs and plants, Mr. Ahluwalia’s book is one to refer to.
With many years of his career spent in the Indian Forestry Service, Mr. Ahluwalia clearly has a wealth of knowledge and shares it generously.
The book was especially interesting for me, on a purely personal level, since I am a Christian and since much of the book focuses on herbs and plants and trees mentioned in the Bible, many references were familiar from childhood bible study classes.
But the author covers ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, the Indus valley, Jewish traditions, and it is this very wide ranging nature of his research that makes this such a good reference work.
I dipped in and out of the book, but always ended up reading more and more.
For example, when I received my review copy of the book, I had just returned from a trip to Oman, and so the chapter on Frankincense was of particular interest. From there it was just one small logical step to learn about the medicinal properties of African Frankincense, and suddenly I realised that, yes, I’d heard of Boswellia as a possible treatment against cognitive decline. One further step and I learned that India, too, has its variety of Frankincense, something I didn’t know before.
As I said, one thing leads to another in this book, a bit like pieces of a jigsaw fitting together, as you connect plants with history, and culture, and folk medicine and modern medicine.
I was sent the book by the publishers, the delightfully named Fingerprint! (the exclamation mark is theirs, not mine, by the way)
Colour photographs would have been lovely, and definitely added to the look of the book, but even so, this is a useful book to keep on your bookshelf, and to consult.
If you would like to order the book, you can do so directly from here, using the link below: