Including the latest developments in the field of herbal medicine, this classic bestseller presents a fascinating account of the ideas, personalities, advances, and vicissitudes that have shaped the course of medicine and pharmacology in the Western world. The author provides an eloquent and engaging account of the use of herbal medicine from prehistoric times to the present, reaffirming the incalculable value of medicinal plants in the healing arts. She presents a strong case for the cyclical emergence of alternative medicine at times (such as our own) when allopathic methods of treatment have lost their safety and efficacy.