[MPWG] Bush Medicine of the Bahamas - now in print

[Jeff McCormack]

Just published, September 2011
Bush Medicine of the Bahamas: A Cross-cultural Perspective
from San Salvador Island, including Pharmacology and Oral Histories

by Jeffrey H. McCormack, Kathleen Maier, and Patricia B. Wallens
Foreword by Gary Paul Nabhan

Excellent advance reviews from Gary Paul Nabhan, James A. Duke, Rosita
Arvigo, and Roy Upton. For example: "This is the most comprehensive
and richest ethnobotanical presentation on traditional bush medicine
that I have seen ..."
Read more at Reviews   http://www.bushmedicine.org/reviews.html

Quality hardcover, 396 pages, 9" x 11" x 1", 161 illustrations (104 in color).
Retail $37.00.  Weight: 3 lbs.  ISBN: 9780983767305
Available online only from   http://www.bushmedicine.org

About the book
    The residents of San Salvador Island, Bahamas, practice a form of
traditional medicine using tropical plants for curing diseases and
treating ailments. Their enslaved African ancestors brought to the New
World a practical knowledge of medicinal plants, and a legacy of
"medicinal plant literacy" that helped them "read" and recognize the
potential healing qualities of the many new and unfamiliar plants of
the Bahamas. Under the influence of European and colonial practices,
their diverse beliefs and healing practices were then simplified,
distilled, transformed, reformulated, and further refined by
generations of experimentation. This form of medicine is of value
today not only for what it tells us of a unique culture but for what
it might have to teach us about traditional healing. This book, a
comprehensive treatment of Bahamian bush medicine, is dedicated to the
preservation and continued use of this knowledge before it is lost.
Chapters explore the cultural roots, principles, and practice of bush
medicine. The Materia Medica covers 120 medicinal plants, including
details of administration and dosage, pharmacology, and cross-cultural
uses; non-botanical remedies are covered as well. Throughout the book,
oral histories provide details of the healers' practice and glimpses
of the culture of San Salvador Island. Includes color illustrations of
over 100 medicinal plants, and the people who use them.

--
Jeff McCormack, Ph.D.
Charlottesville, VA 22911
www.bushmedicine.org