The Complementary and Alternative Medicine Information Source Book

Book excerpt: From acupuncture to yoga, the increasing popularity of unconventional medical therapies has risen sharply during the past decade. Consumers are turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for a variety of reasons and are spending billions annually for treatments. Recognizing the growing need to locate authoritative CAM information, award-winning author Alan M. Rees has compiled a first-stop resource for those seeking information to guide their decisions. Noted health information expert Alan Rees organizes the best of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information resources in this new guide for librarians and patients. The book is divided into twelve sections beginning with an overview of CAM terminology, safety concerns, ongoing research and education, and the movement towards integrative medicine. Best of lists of books, magazines, newsletters, CD-ROMs, and professional publications are augmented with contact information for several hundred CAM associations and professional groups, an extensive section on the Internet as a source of CAM-related information, and reviews of 355 popular books on CAM. Librarians will use the Source Book as a collection development tool. Consumers and students will find it an easy-to-use guide for locating hard-to-find resources about the latest in alternative medical therapies and treatments. This unique volume brings together in one volume print and electronic resources pertaining to an in-demand topi, provides recommendations of authoritative sources of current information on a wide variety of unconventional medical therapies, will fill the information gap in the rapidly growing field of CAM.