If you feel a cold coming on, which herb can help clear it up gently and safely? Is there an herbal remedy for hair loss? What is ginseng, and what ailments can it alleviate? Answers to these and hundreds of other questions are at your fingertips in this easy-to-use volume--a one-stop reference that belongs in every home. At first glance, Ody's Home Herbal looks like a coffee-table book in which the artistic effect outweighs the substance. But this profusely illustrated guide is packed with information, creating a real "visual dictionary" of herbal remedies. While most such guides mention terms like infusions, decoctions, tinctures, compresses, and ointments, this book uses excellent photographs to reveal the actual process of preparing them. Equally detailed illustrations track herbs through their stages of growth and preservation. There is clear instruction here on the harvesting, preparation, and therapeutic properties of 60 herbs, with particular attention given to specific ailments and the needs of people at different stages of life. The A to Z Guide to Healing Herbal Remedies covers much of the same material, but in a quick reference format and without illustrations. The focus is different: this book lists herbs that are already prepared in the form of capsules, teas, extracts, oils, and tinctures and are commercially available in drugstores and supermarkets. There are two listings, one by ailment, one by herb, with coverage of dosage, benefits, precautions, and preventative and curative functions. These two books complement each other in purpose and information presented; much of the content is not repetitive (e.g., Ody covers bedwetting, while Elias and Masline cover AIDS; Ody lists herbs alphabetically by botanical name and Elias and Masline by common name). A library would do well to have several books on herbal medicine. Ody's is essential for libraries having no illustrated herbal books; Elias and Masline's meets the needs of patrons interested in convenience rather than the painstaking preparation of herbs.-Valerie Vaughan, Hatfield P.L., Mass. Author-Jason Elias & Shelagh Ryan Masline Paperback, 292pp