A book which had originally been conceived as a treatise on medical plants has been turned by its own subject into a statement for the reconciliation and integration of a multitude of healing crafts, skills and sciences. The authors follow the interconnecting development of both Western and non-Western medicine, through the myriad of healing plants which form the basis of both approaches to the prevention and cure of illness. David Bellamy and Andrea Pfister approach the world of medicine with the combined approach of a botanist and an ecologist. The botanist's perspective, looking at the similarities induced by a common botanical patrimony is rare. The ecologist's approach, looking at the healing crafts's suitability in reference to mankind's needs is rarer still. Recognizing the enormous contribution of established medical practices to human development, David Bellamy and Andrea Pfister raise the question of whether Western medicine in its present form serves mankind's current needs adequately. The authors suggest that the future will lie in the exploration and employment of effective healing methods from other parts of the world. A synthesis of the world's multitude of healing crafts, skills and sciences may be the only hope of sustaining and improving medical care for everyone. World Medicine includes a wide ranging and systematic survey of plant families employed in the West for medicinal purposes, with references to their uses in India and China.