Sunday, September 16, 2007

Book Review - The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

This book, written by Valerie Ann Worwood, is truly a 'complete' guide to almost anything you'd want to know about essential oils and aromatherapy. As someone who works with such things on a pretty much daily basis, this book is my cornerstone of information. Any time I need information on usage or recommended oils, this is the first place I look, as it has everything, from Essential Oil First Aid, to Cooking with Essential Oils; and, of course, your basics, such as perfumery and massage.

It is written in a very clear, concise way that is both easy to use and to understand. It is written as a series of entries/articles, each about a very specific topic. Each of them are about a third of a page or less, yet still very informative and thorough, covering all the basics you need to know, and much beyond-the-basics information as well. This is one of the reasons that it manages to be so concise; each article is completely independent of the next, grouped together by a general subject into chapters.

The index is probably one of the best features of this book; it is very complete and thorough, as is most of the book, and you can use the book for many years without having to look anywhere but the index to find the information you need.

Another aspect that is highly useful is the charts in the appendices. They are quite informative, and can help clear up confusion about ‘which oil is which’, since there may be multiple names for a single oil.

In addition to what this book obviously has - in-depth information on essential oils and other aspects of aromatherapy - it also has to its advantage a vast amount of ‘other’ wholistic information, such as dietary suggestions and environmental recommendations.

One of the few downsides to this book, for those of us in the US, is it was written in the UK, and they use different terminology for many things, so finding the information you need can be tricky at times.

All in all, this book is definitely a must-have for anyone interested in essential oils or aromatherapy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - The Fragrant Pharmacy
Chapter 1 - Medicines Out of the Earth
Chapter 2 - Your Basic Care Kit
Chapter 3 - Your Basic Travel Kit
Chapter 4 - Occupational Oils for the Working Man and Woman
Chapter 5 - Assertive Oils for Sports, Dance, and Workouts
Chapter 6 - The Fragrant Way to Beauty
Chapter 7 - The Body Beautiful
Chapter 8 - Essential Care for Your Hair
Chapter 9 - The Gentle Touch for Babies and Children
Chapter 10 - A Woman’s Natural Choice
Chapter 11 - The Natural Choice for Men
Chapter 12 - Essential Help in the Maturing Years
Chapter 13 - Fragrant Care for Your Home
Chapter 14 - The Stillroom
Chapter 15 - Sweet-Scented Celebrations
Chapter 16 - Cooking With Essential Oils
Chapter 17 - Natural Health for Domestic Animals
Chapter 18 - Gardens for the Future

Appendix 1 - The Essential Oil Charts

Appendix 2 - Aromassage

Appendix 3 - Addresses and Bibliography

Index







cover

Buy it now on Amazon.com!

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