I thought I would be the 50th person to write a "testimonial" for THE GREEN PHARMACY -- ANTI-AGING PRESCRIPTIONS by James Duke, but it turns out no one has written a review to date. This is a big surprise for me because Dr. Duke's book is wonderful.

Dr. Duke (he has a Ph.D.) retired from the USDA where he worked as Chief of the Medicinal Plant Resources Laboratory for years. In retirement (he's age 72), he remains active in ReNuPeru, a medicinl herb garden in the Peruvian Amazon maintained by the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research. In other words, he has credentials in plant pharmaecology recognized by the U.S. Government.

Dr. Duke owns a six-acre farmette in Fulton Maryland where he raises medicinal/food plants. I discovered Duke in a book on herbalist gardens entitled, THE HERBALIST'S GARDEN, by Shatoiya and Richard de la Tour. Both books (Duke and de la Tour) were reviewed by a local garden expert in the Washington Post. The Post article and the de la Tour book contain beautiful photographs of Duke's garden but alas he has included no photographs in his own book (why I gave it 4 stars).

I've been growing and using herbs for over forty years (I drank Camomile tea and ate bean and barley soup in the 1960s), and I own a number of books on this subject. Dr. Duke's book on "anti-aging prescriptions" appeals to me because 1) I am older and the book meets my immediate needs, 2) the book is laid out by ailment or "challenge" not by herb. In othr words, I don't have to hunt for salient information.

For example, if you're worried about cracking and peeling skin you can turn to Section 22. 'Smooth Skin' and read about the various approaches, techniques, etc. you might use to improve your skin's health. I discovered the flaxseed oil I have been taking for symtoms of menopause is exactly what I need for skin health but I should buy a variant that includes Borage or Evening Primrose oil.

Duke has many helpful suggestions including eating what he calls the Paleolithic diet consisting of many servings of vegetables and fruits and fewer servings of meats, cheeses and other dairy items (I'm not eating grubs--nor does he recomend them). And, yes you've probably read about this diet--it's the official USDA recommended diet--but Duke's value-added information is the list of ingredient he pinpoints for health. He explains why prunes, plums and other dark fruit are good for you, and why beans other than soy beans make a difference. To begin your older years (50+) in good health, I recommend you read Dr. Duke's book and practice what he preaches.

I read the book because a friend ordered it from Rodale, while I liked the book, for general purposes, it really didn't have any guts to speak of.

When I went thru the book, I didn't feel there was enough information or the information wasn't as complete or informative as it could have been, especially for the price that Rodale was selling it for. *substantally higher than here, and the suggested list price I might add* Yes it had a few tidbits of information that were interesting, but, in my opinion, if you want this book to answer all your questions about specific areas that are listed, you would be better off purchasing a specialty book for the various areas that this book covers or supposedly covers.

My friend who isn't an herbalist, but, does read up on various areas of health, fitness, and herbs, was unimpressed enough to send the book back to them, within their trial period. Also she is the type that usually will keep everything even if its just for 1 or 2 bits of information she hasn't found elsewhere.

I am not an herbalist, but I would reccommend this book to anyone. It didn't overwhelm me with too much information, but it had a lot of good information on the topics I am interested in. Every chapter was helpful to me in some way. I am glad I found it on the shelf.