Arrangement is alphabetical by the names used in The Complete German Commission E Monographs, Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicine. Each entry provides a summary chart of vital information on the plant or condiment, followed by a profile of the substance as food or drink, a description of the effects on the body, and recommended safe uses. The text offers succinct commentary on the practical worth of each substance--for example, spearmint and chives as insect repellents, sesame as cooking oil, turmeric as a cheap substitute for saffron. Most helpful is information for pregnant and nursing women. The index groups entries under such headings as appetite stimulants, fabric dyes, and protein sources.

The 34 postage-stamp-sized line drawings of such familiar plants as parsley and basil do little to particularize the plants as they appear in nature or to introduce less familiar entries, such as buchu and celandine. Omitted from the text and index are corn starch, a common remedy for prickly heat, and arthritis, one of the most pervasive focuses of alternative healing methods from ancient times to the present.

Other books, such as The Complete Book of Herbs (Dorling Kindersley, 1988) and the old faithful handbook Magic and medicine of Plants (Reader's Digest, 1986), are enhanced by color illustrations, history, peripheral commentary, and folklore. Though not as appealing, Rinzler's book is beautifully organized, suitably priced, and more current. Libraries that found the first edition useful will want this update. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
The New Complete Book of Herbs, Spices, and Condiments offers a unique way of looking at seasonings. It presents them as individual health products, each complete with the same types of nutritional, chemical, and medical benefits and side effects found in any vitamin supplement, prescription drug, or over-the-counter product.

Presented in A-to-Z format, each entry includes:
Basic information about the plant
How it is used as flavoring
How it affects your body
Benefits and adverse effects of using the herb, spice, or condiment
How to use the herb, spice, or condiment properly.

mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile.

After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin

From Publishers Weekly
[Signature]Reviewed by Amy SohnI never dated Neil Strauss, but I dated guys like him. Like many New York women, I have always gone for balding, pale guys because they're grateful and good in bed. But a few years ago, a distraught Strauss decided he was a loser with women and set about transforming himself into the world's greatest pick-up artist. The Game is his long, often tedious but hilarious account of how he did it. This ugly-duckling tale will affect different readers in different ways, depending on their degree of cynicism: some will be awed by Strauss's ménage-à-trois snowball scene, while others will suspect it was cribbed from a third-rate porno Strauss watched in his pre-macking days.When his story begins Strauss is, well, a Neil: an unconfident, self-described AFC (average frustrated chump). He is also, it should be noted, a well-known rock critic who penned porn star Jenna Jameson's autobiography, leaving one wondering just how pathetic women really found him. After paying $500 to join a workshop for aspiring PUAs (pick-up artists) led by a magician named mystery at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel, Strauss becomes addicted to pick-up technique. He trains with several PUA gurus, including Ross Jeffries, a hypnotist rumored to be the basis for the Tom Cruise character in Magnolia. With his brains and dedication, Strauss renames himself Style and soon becomes a master of the game—able to get sex from beautiful women who once would have run the other way.But The Game doesn't get really interesting until Strauss deviates from his NC-17 Horatio Alger story and tells what happens when he moves into a Sunset Strip mansion with a group of other PUAs. He starts to see the misogyny of the sport and realizes that most of its leaders had miserable childhoods. The AFC who became a PUA to understand women ultimately becomes an expert on men.As Strauss grows restless to talk about things other than number closes and phase shifts (the book's glossary is a juicy read of its own), the mansion loses its appeal and he reluctantly grows up. When he meets a tough-talking band mate of Courtney Love's named Lisa and they bond over music, we can guess where the narrative is headed. In the book's final pages, he dumps onto his bed all the phone numbers he's collected and tells Lisa, "I've spent two years meeting every girl in L.A. And out of them all, I chose you," which is like telling your mother-in-law that the Thanksgiving dinner you had last year at Applebee's was nothing compared to the one she just prepared. But for some reason, Lisa doesn't flee. I can only hope that in the inevitable 2007 movie version, starring Jack Black and Kate Hudson, Lisa throws the numbers in his face and leaves him for a guy who knows how to pay a girl a compliment. (Sept. 1)Amy Sohn is the author of My Old Man, which was just released in paperback by Simon & Schuster, and she writes the "Mating" column for New York magazine.
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