This book is an interesting compendium of benign, beneficial, and clearly harmful remedies used in the "pre-modern" period of medicine, that is, according to the author, prior to 1850, when advances began transforming the profession into its modern guise. The text is engaging--artist/writer Walker has authored two previous books on word origins and leads cultural history workshops at the British Library. The introduction provides a concise overview of the philosophies and methods of "pre-modern" medicine, including brief discussions of the roles played by Galen, Paracelsus, and Hippocrates. The book is organized around body systems and their respective maladies; each chapter records several remedies, largely in their original English with minor revisions to improve clarity. Brief commentaries from a contemporary perspective follow each remedy. These author comments are instructive, acknowledging the remedies that have some scientific basis for effectiveness. Useful for readers at all levels who are interested in the history of medicine and, especially, in medical interventions used prior to the 1850s. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic, general, and professional history of medicine collections. J. Saxton Bastyr University