Kaptchuk writes a fascinating introduction to Chinese medicine. More than just a clinical analysis of acupuncture and herbal treatment, Kaptchuk describes the entirely different, more holistic, worldview of a Chinese physician.

As a patient who has received some relief for chronic migraine through herbal and acupuncture treatment, this book was totally intriguing.

A very interesting and well-documented book. It's not easy to find someone that can bridge and understand both West and Eastern philosophies. I was looking for a good introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine and the concepts behind it. This was the right book for it. It gives a broad but very thorough perspective on the matter while maintaining a very neutral and non-judgemental approach, which is, very refreshing.

I'm not a medical specialist and the enumeration of patterns eventually became repetitive, but overall, the introduction to the framework and the clinical cases it includes are very insightful.

I can't recommend this book enough if you have any interest in TCM's theory and inner workings. It's not a medical manual though, so avoid it if you're looking for herbs or acupuncture recipes.

Truly an interesting perspective on medicine. It would take years to comprehend but I wish we would incorporate more of it in our western medicine.

This is the best nonfiction book about a complex topic. Precise and poetic.

A great read for both someone learning how to do acupuncture and someone who wants to understand the basic theories and ideas. As someone who gets treated with acupuncture I now have a better basis of understanding in the questions and practices that happen to me.

This book is superb at assisting in the comprehension of chinese/eastern medicine for the western mind. The difference between two very different seeming medical modalities can be bridged once one transcends the inflexible concept that there is only one worldview....plainly there are multiple ways of viewing ourselves and the world we live in.
I have "lost" this book to borrowers so many times I have lost count! I just buy a new one....