This book is for anyone involved in the world of health and healing who wants to explore the invisible facets of interpersonal relationships as they relate to health, healing and the spiritual journey.

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition, Paris Flammonde traces the history of alternative medicine from the deeds of the earliest shaman right up to the practices of such contemporary healers as Deepak Chopra and Benny Hinn.

Most of the histories of the West are obsessed with the shoot-em-ups. But what about the patch-em-ups? Who had to deal with all that famous carnage? With all the bloodletting depicted by pop culture historians, it almost seems a miracle anyone survived to settle the West. Prior to World War II regular, or allopathic, physicians trained in mainstream medicine were often outnumbered by alternative practitioners--folk curers, herbalists, faith healers, homeopaths, patent medicine promoters, and medicine showmen. Mystic Healers and Medicine Shows profiles many of the most significant of these healers as well as a few other colorful regular doctors.

This book discusses the perception of disease, healing concepts and the evolution of traditional systems of healing in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh, India. The chapters cover a diverse range issues: people and knowledge systems, healing in ancient scriptures, concept of sacredness and faith healing, food as medicament, presumptions about disease, ethno-botanical aspects of medicinal plants, collection and processing of herbs, traditional therapeutic procedures, indigenous Materia medica, etc. The book also discusses the diverse therapeutic procedures followed by Himalayan healers and their significance in the socio-cultural life of Himalayan societies. The World Health Organization defines traditional medicine as wisdom, skills, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness and maintenance of health. In some Asian and African countries, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicine for primary health care. However, the knowledge of these conventional healing techniques and traditions associated with conveying this knowledge are slowly disappearing. The authors highlight the importance of safeguarding this indigenous knowledge in the cultural milieu of the Himachal Himalayas. This book will be an important resource for researchers in medical anthropology, biology, ethno-biology, ecology, community health, health behavior, psychotherapy, and Himalayan studies.

Presents accounts of cures effected by such major psychic and charismatic healers as Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman, Edgar Cayce, and Harry Edwards.