Kava: Medicine Hunting in Paradise: The Pursuit of a Natural Alternative to Anti-Anxiety Drugs and Sleeping Pills

This book gave me the comfort level and impetus to try Kava as a cure for my chronic insomnia. Previously I read and tried melatonin, with no success. Finally a protracted illness lead me to search again. The author gives enough details on the plant, pharmocology, and ethnobotany. There is eight pages of full references for additional research, if desired.Went to a local health food store / COOP with the book in hand and had the staff present the different brands of Kava in stock. Finally selected a Kava tincture because a salesperson / user said that this is the best form, compared to powdered root, capsules, and other standardized extracts. He said you will get the fastest and most powerful effects with this tincture, especially since the label said it was extracted from Vanuatu Isl 4-8 yr old roots. He was right on target; the tincture gave a white cloudy mixture when a couple of dropperfuls in 1/3 glass of water. It tasted pretty musty, as expected from reading about the Nakamals, native kava bars!! Got a slight numbing of the tongue too! Fell asleep within 30 minutes and did not wake up for 6 hours, refreshed and alert. The next best thing to being there with the author, who wrote a great story.My first time using tinctures. Normally I use capsules or try to make a tea out of the bark or root. The book told me of the uselessness of making a tea, as heat destoys the kavalactones.

We're featuring this book in a section of COCONUT, the Web Guide to the Tropical World. The section is all about kava, and the author's new book comes out at a perfect time, as interest in Kava is growing rapidly all over the world.This book rambles at times, but the story of the author's encounters with a village of ni-Vanuatu people is wonderful and memorable and happily, it forms the bulk of the book.For a full review of Chris Kilham's KAVA book, check out the COCONUT website (which will be making its grand opening in August 1996) at http://www.coconut.com.---- Brian Dear, Editor of "COCONUT"