Book excerpt: Readers have come to depend on Jim Duke's comprehensive handbooks for their ease of use and artful presentation of scientific information. Following the successful format of his other CRC handbooks, Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible contains 150 herbs listed alphabetically and by scientific name. Each entry provides illustrations of the plant, synonyms, notes, common names, activities, indications, dosages, downsides and interactions, natural history, and extracts. It includes Biblical quotes as well as comments on points of interest.