Book Review: Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner

Make sure to get the 2nd edition.  Trust me on this.

I selected Stephen Harrod Buhner's Herbal Antibiotics:  Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria, because I think if I had to bug-out (perish that thought!) and could take only one of my dozens of prepping books with me, this would be The One.  Steve Solomon's Gardening When It Counts would likely rank second, probably only because I've already had several years to practice gardening and cement his ideas into my little brain.  Having some bacterial infections and thus the opportunity to apply knowledge gained from Herbal Antibiotics would be quite ideal for learning how to use the natural remedies, but no one here is volunteering to be guinea pig.  Again.

First off, Herbal Antibiotics is quite unlike the majority of other herbal medicine books that are more fluff or vagueness than substance.  Buhner clearly and logically discusses each herb, with its Latin and common names, how it has been used throughout history, how it is used in other parts of the world, and how to prepare and dose it for specific illnesses.  The only possible flaw, and it's not a deal-breaker for sure, is that there are no pictures of the plants.  However, there's always Google Lady, and sometimes one species of plant looks quite different from another of the same genus.  

Buhner explains what's happening with the current health dilemma we face regarding increasing antibiotic resistance and takes a matter of fact approach to the doom and gloom of the end of the antibiotic era.  A gifted writer, he goes into great detail about twenty great antibiotic herbals, including usnea, juniper, honey, the berberines, etc., that are pretty much widely available.  But he also includes a section on some lesser known plant-sourced antibiotics.  Sprinkled throughout are brief forays into biochemistry, which can be daunting to non-sciency readers, but they're easily passed over.  Buhner also informs us about where these plants can be found in the wild and offers recommendations for online sources.  And unlike the vast majority of herbal medicine books on the market, for each herb he includes pages of references to technical journals so you can do your own research. 

Stephen Buhner could have come from the same gene pool as Gary Larson (The Far Side).  You can see it throughout the book.  It's really very entertaining.

I appreciate the more research-based, scientific approach to herbal medicine, as opposed to the more common, vague approaches lacking any scientific explanation or basis.  Many, (way too many) moons ago I earned a degree in zoology, and spent a few years as a Russian-English translator of life sciences material.  Although I have a somewhat technical background, I didn't find this book to be beyond the ability of the average Joe to understand.  Yeah, Buhner does go into some detail about how these herbals work in the body, but it's not entirely necessary to read all that to figure out how to treat yourself.  I've read it three times, so far.  It's that interesting.  And I understand more and remember more each time, so that's a really good thing.

Buhner's intended audience was probably those who understand that antibiotic resistance is poised to create a worldwide crisis and who are looking for tools to defend themselves.  However, this book is especially valuable for preppers who recognize that even a substantial supply of traditional antibiotics will be exhausted.  And because Big Pharma just isn't doing the research to develop new antibiotics, and because bacteria are so effective at defeating new antibiotics when they come out anyway, we need to be prepared to manage bacterial infections. 

Herbal Antibiotics is definitely not a book to borrow and take notes on or make copies of a few good pages.  You really want the whole thing for your own reference.  It's one of precious few books that is worth every penny and every precious inch of shelf space.

Links to related posts:
Alton's Antibiotics review
Herbal Antivirals review 

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