Aromatherapy or Beasts of the Earth

Aromatherapy: To Heal and Tend the Body

Author: Robert B Tisserand

The use of aromatic oils to soothe both physical and psychic disorders was recognized in early Egypt. Only recently has it been rediscovered as a pleasant treatment for a wide range of ailments. The therapeutic properties of the essential oils, together with the relaxation induced by the massage, have been found to relieve many conditions and are particularly helpful for stress-related problems. In this book, Robert Tisserand has provided a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to this increasingly popular form of complementary therapy.

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Beasts of the Earth: Animals, Humans, and Disease

Author: E Fuller Torrey

"Beginning with the domestication of farm animals nearly 10,000 years ago, Beasts of the Earth traces the ways that human-animal contact has evolved over time. Today, shared living quarters, overlapping ecosystems, and experimental surgical practices where organs or tissues are transplanted from non-humans into humans continue to open new avenues for the transmission of infectious agents. Other changes in human behavior like increased air travel, automated food processing, and threats of bioterrorism are increasing the contagion factor by transporting microbes further distances and to larger populations in virtually no time at all." While the authors urge that a better understanding of past diseases may help us lessen the severity of some illnesses, they also warn that, given our increasingly crowded planet, it is not a question of if but when and how often animal-transmitted diseases will pose serious challenges to human health in the future.

Table of Contents:

1	The smallest passengers on Noah's ark	1
2	Heirloom infections : microbes before the advent of humans	14
3	Humans as hunters : animal origins of bioterrorism	23
4	Humans as farmers : microbes move into the home	33
5	Humans as villagers : microbes in the promised land	48
6	Humans as traders : microbes get passports	56
7	Humans as pet keepers : microbes move into the bedroom	68
8	Humans as diners : mad cows and sane chickens	97
9	Microbes from the modern food chain : lessons from SARS, influenza, and bird flu	112
10	The coming plagues : lessons from AIDS, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease	124
11	A four-footed view of history	139