Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine: Old World and New World Traditions

(Hardback)

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Description

A wide-ranging compilation on the materia medica of the ordinary people of Britain and North America, comparing practices in both places. * Over 200 A-Z entries on all aspects of folk medicine from asthma and childbirth to poultice and warts * Primary source documents from a variety of public archives and private collections * Illustrations of plant, animal, and mineral sources for folk remedies * Complete and extensive end-of-entry references

Reviews

"[A]n authoritative and exhaustively researched volume ... well organized and attractively designed ... for libraries with collections in the history of medicine, folklore, and anthropology." - American Reference Books Annual "Because oral traditions are often lost when practitioners die, this work makes a valuable contribution to folk medicine and to medical literature in general. It is also interesting to read ... Highly recommended. All collections." - Choice "[W]ould be as much at home in folk culture collections as in a library's medical section. Public libraries with patron interest or academic libraries with collections in traditional medicine would profit from the author's historical approach." - Booklist "[T]his is a valiant effort at bringing together a considerable body of information. Even though the individual entries are short, Hatfield's catholic approach to selecting topics for articles and the thoroughness with which the entries are documented will make this a helpful source for those researching British and British-derived American folk medicine." - Journal of American Folklore

Author Bio

Gabrielle Hatfield, PhD, is a professional botanist.