Radical Healing: Integrating the World's Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine

"there are few books which i can recommend more than this one.
[only recommended for those who already are a bit in the field of "alternative medicine"]
diet and nutrition [from the same author]was an eye-opener for me- many ,many years ago -and i still highly recommend this book -as a first choice -for anybody interesting in nutrition [to start with]
i am speaking as a physician."
~ Written on 2004-12-26

"This book is written in a lively fashion. The author is intelligent, thourough and the text is approachable and flowing.
Unlike other self-help guides this book does not "preach" or ground itself in mysterious conventions without explanation. EVerything makes sense- if you're open to some adjustments- and it's a great book not only to heal certain diseases, but also to provide tools to customize your diet, habits and excercise so they would suit your type, helping you to feel better and healthier.
Not to be missed !"
~ Written on 2002-12-08

"It's fair in that it accomplishes what the title indicates - it does indeed integrate "the World's Great Therapeutic Traditions" - but it fails to adequately incorporate the world's greatest therapeutic tradition - traditional modern medicine.

Not all causes of illness arise in the mind. Case in point: using the book, since I have a sore throat now, I looked up "sore throat" and did the recommended "Lion" yoga exercise - I also even tried a little bit of the "cold wet cloth around neck". The "Lion" actually caused my throat to dry out, which actually aggravated the situation. The cold wet cloth didn't feel right so I stopped. Also, the stated possible cause of "Holding in anger, not expressing yourself" really didn't seem to fit the bill - I was too tired to feel like expressing anger, even in the "Lion" pose. (As a certified yoga instructor, I would have thought that something that massages the throat, such as the Cobra, would have made more sense.)

My point is that not all causes of illness arise in the mind. Certainly some do, and even those that don't might have an effect on the mind, but I think it's just plain impractical to believe that illness is all about attitude. If you do believe that, you wind up thinking (as religious types sometimes do) that everything bad that happens to you happens because of something you did wrong or believed wrong. That isn't the case. Bad stuff happens to even the best of us. Don't always be blaming yourself for your illnesses, and don't always think you've got to change your life around just because you sneezed. (I'm exaggerating to get my point across.)

So far, it hasn't become a "New Transformative Medicine" for me, but maybe it will grow on me. In the meantime, I'll only seek "alternative" health care when "traditional modern" health care doesn't cut it for me.

Other than that, the book is great - it's well written, has interested anecdotes, is easy to read, is structured in an easy to use and intuitive manner, and has more than adequate illustrations to emphasize important points. This is the first book on holistic medicine I've ever read, and I'm glad it is, because it helps me see the "big picture" of the field of holistic medicine.

So as a book I'd give it 5 stars, but I'm taking off one star for the nature of the content and another star for the failure to truly integrate "traditional modern" health care."
~ Written on 2002-04-30

"The author uses his large range of experiences over 25 years and his very lucid writing style to detail the workings of herbal medicines, homoeopathic remedies & flower essences. I recommend these chapters to any lay person wishing to get an introduction to these areas. He deals with self diagnosis and detoxing, nutrition and diet, finally addressing health in terms of energy, which I find very thought proviking"
~ Written on 2001-09-13

"Ballentine brings synthesis to integrating the historic healing systems of the world. I am an alternative practitioner specializing in bodywork and the mind-soul connection. He says plainly what I have struggled for years to explain to my clients who truely seek wholistic healing. It's all in there and it's definitely all connected. This writing allows the reader to extract information and gain understanding in an applicable manner. I refer to it often and always discover something new and timely to aide me and my clients."
~ Written on 2001-04-23