" "This book is published by Elsevier in a form and size similar to Simon Mills and Kerry Bone's excellent `Principle and Practice of Phytotherapy'. The back cover states that the book provides the most current and authoritative information on safety issues in herbal medicine, with 12 chapters on safe herbal use and 125 herbal monographs. It ends by saying “Whether you're a natural medicine practitioner or conventional medical professional looking to integrate herbal therapies into your practice, [the book] in the only reference you'll need to feel confident about your prescribing decisions”. The twelve chapters have been written by the authors with a number of relevant experts, and the titles are as follows: Introduction: what is herb safety?; Adverse effects of herbal remedies: the case to answer; The adverse placebo effect and transient treatment reactions; Idiosyncratic drug reactions; Human-plant interactions; Adverse herb-drug reactions; safety considerations during pregnancy and lactation; The impact of quality issues on the safety of herbal products; Safety concern involving Chinese herbal medicine; Allergic reactions to herbal medicines; Pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines; Kava: a risk-benefit assessment. The safety monographs are split into the following headings: Safety summary; Typical therapeutic use; Actions; Key constituents; Adulteration; Typical dosage forms and dosage; Contraindications; Use in pregnancy; Use in lactation; Warnings and precautions; Effect on ability to drive or operate machinery; Adverse reactions; Interactions; Safety in children; Overdosage; Toxicology; Regulatory status; References. This is a comprehensive and well-researched text, and provides not only a list of herbs and potential safety issues, but twelve informative and interesting chapters in addition. The safety monographs are comprehensive and well referenced and, as well as for practitioners, would serve well as a guide to those in research and industry. Overall, you feel confident that the information is authoritative and up to date. Well recommended”. "