Cover image for Trying to give ease : Tommie Bass and the story of herbal medidine
Title:
Trying to give ease : Tommie Bass and the story of herbal medidine
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Publication Information:
Durham, N.C. : Duke University Pr., 1997
ISBN:
9780822320173

9780822308775
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30000005204254 RS164 C85 1997 Open Access Book Book
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Summary

Summary

In Trying to Give Ease , John K. Crellin and Jane Philpott focus on the life, practices, and accumulated knowledge of the late A. L. "Tommie" Bass, a widely known and admired Appalachian herbalist. Informed by insights drawn from several disciplines, particularly anthropology, their broad historical analyses of self-care practices and herbal remedies draw heavily on recorded interviews with Bass and his patients. Special attention is given to local resources that shape alternative medicine, the backgrounds of herbal practitioners, and the cultural currency of medical concepts once central to professional medicine and now less common. The authors report on both the physical effects of herbal remedies and the psychological factors that have an impact on their success. Trying to Give Ease is a companion to A Reference Guide to Medicinal Plants , also published by Duke University Press.


Author Notes

John K. Crellin, Clinch Professor of the History of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a physician, pharmacist, and historian. His books include Medical Ceramics in the Wellcome Institute and Home Medicine: The Newfoundland Experience .

Before her death in 1997, Jane Philpott was Professor Emerita in the Department of Botany and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Duke University.


Reviews 1

Choice Review

This two-volume set is a scholarly look at herbal medicine based mainly on the life and practice of a single Appalachian herbalist, A.L. Tommie Bass. The first volume, Trying to Give Ease, has an anthropological approach, using observations and interviews over a long period of time. It describes and evaluates Bass's practice from a historical perspective, gives Bass's views in his own voice, describes aspects of his life relating to the development on his practice, documents the extent of his practice, and gives details of his advice and herb recommendations. It also includes 58 pages of notes and a 59-page annotated bibliography as well as a subject index. Volume 2, A Reference Guide to Medicinal Plants, consists of brief articles on 260 medicinal herbs; it also contains a glossary, annotated bibliography, and a subject index. Each essay includes the herbalist's account of his knowledge of the herb followed by the authors' commentary including information on the herb's taxonomy, history, a consensus of usage, today's scientific knowledge of the herb, notes, and references. These volumes are unique in documenting a successful herbalist's life as well as preserving the depth of his knowledge about herbs. C.F. Millspaugh's Medicinal Plants (1887; 1892 ed. repr. under title American Medicinal Plants, 1974) covers 180 plants, and A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia (1971) by Arnold Krochmal and others describes 126 plants, but the descriptions do not have the same flavor, nor do they give any information about herbalists. Crellin and Philpott are well qualified and have written two interesting and very readable books. Each could be enjoyed separately, but each complements the other. Very strongly recommended to any library with a botanical or anthropological collection. E. L. Williams Vassar College