Culpeper's Complete Herbal - by Nicholas Culpeper & Steven Foster (Paperback)

About the Book

For more than 360 years, Culpeper's Complete Herbal has been THE definitive book on the subject, with advice on using, gathering, drying, and conserving herbs. This beautifully illustrated new edition, edited and with commentary by acclaimed herbalist and bestselling author Steven Foster, combines the charm and information of Culpeper's original with up-to-date, practical usage--including where to find each herb, its flowering time, astrology, and medicinal benefits.

Book Synopsis

A revised and refreshed edition of Culpeper's classic book on herbal remedies.

"[An] updated and beautifully designed guide . . . " --Booklist

For more than 360 years, Nicholas Culpeper's historic guide to herbal remedies has been THE definitive book on the subject. Culpeper, an English herbalist, is the author of the bestselling herbal guide of all time. He offered valuable and sometimes unusual advice on using, gathering, and preparing herbs. Now, this beautifully illustrated new edition, edited and with commentary by acclaimed US herbalist and bestselling author Steven Foster, combines the charm and information of Culpeper's original seventeenth-century text with up-to-date, modern, practical usage. It includes details about where to find each herb, astrology, and medicinal benefits.

[back flap]
Bestselling author, photographer, consultant, and herbalist Steven Foster has forty years of experience in the herbal field. He started his career at Sabbathday Lake (Maine) Shaker Village Herb Department--America's oldest herb business, dating to 1799. Foster is the author or coauthor of eighteen books, including the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America, 3rd ed. (with James A. Duke). Foster is also senior author of National Geographic's A Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine (with Rebecca Johnson). An acclaimed photographer, his work appears in countless publications. He is a contributing editor to HerbalGram, the journal of the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas. He lives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

[back cover]
Spectacularly illustrated, this is an annotated edition of Nicholas Culpeper's bestselling herbal book on using, gathering, and preparing herbs. With new commentary on modern usage by acclaimed US herbalist and bestselling author Steven Foster supplementing Culpeper's seventeenth-century text, it provides information on where each herb can be found, its astrological correlations, and all of its medicinal benefits.

Review Quotes

"Culpeper's Herbal, frequently re-released in varying forms, has been the standard and most popular Western guide to herbs for hundreds of years. This edition, edited by author, photographer, and herbalist Foster, includes content from several previous versions and is based heavily on the 1653 second edition. Each plant is described by including its common and modern scientific names, where it grows, its "government and virtues," modern uses, and cautions. While the modern uses and cautions are written from Foster's current-day perspective, Culpeper's voice is very present in the bulk of the text and readers will likely appreciate the political and social commentary that is part of his writing. The juxtaposition of voices is successful and serves to illustrate that a writer's time and place always inform his or her work, no matter the subject. Color botanical illustrations are primarily taken from the 1824 expanded edition but there are also many from other sources, which are noted. This updated and beautifully designed guide is likely to be popular where there is interest in plants and/or natural medicine."-- Booklist

About the Author

Bestselling author, photographer, consultant, and herbalist Steven Foster has 40 years of experience in the herbal field. He started his career at Sabbathday Lake, ME, Shaker's Herb Department--America's oldest herb business, dating to 1799. Foster is the author or coauthor of 18 books including the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Eastern and Central North America, 3rd Ed. (with James A. Duke; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Foster is also senior author of National Geographic's A Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine (with Rebecca Johnson, National Geographic Books). An acclaimed photographer, his work appears in countless publications. He is a Contributing Editor to HerbalGram, the journal of the American Botanical Council in Austin, TX. He lives in Eureka Springs, AR.