Herbarium

Not a field guide for identifying herbs — the author’s illustrations capture the spirit rather than the anatomical details of each plant — this tidy tome nonetheless provides useful information to cooks, gardeners, and budding herbalists. Touching lightly on the botanical, culinary, and medicinal histories of nearly 100 herbs, "Herbarium" is a fetching and accessible introduction to the life- , health- , and flavor-enhancing magic of the plant kingdom.