Book Review
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2001 Jul / Aug VOL III NO 4.
Reviewed By
Dr Padmaja Pai Shenoy
Title: Veratrum: An Egoistic Lily
Author: Dr Ronak Shah
Publishers: Indian Books and Periodicals Syndicate, Block 5/62, Dev Nagar
Pyare Lal Road, Karolbagh, New Delhi - 600 005
ISBN: 81-7467-099-8
Edition: First 2001
Pages: 62
Price: Rs 30
This is a 62-page book on Veratrum-alb. Paper is of good quality, with good print. Easy on the eye. He goes into details of the Family, Botany, Doctrine of signature, Mental picture with emphasis on mother's mental state during pregnancy having an effect on the child's mental state.
Then he has differentiated with different remedies - vis Belladona, Hyosycmus and Stramonium in delirium and another set of comparisons between Verat-alb, Tub-bov and Tarentula-hispania - labeled comparison of children's remedies. Then follows a detailed Materia Medica and relationship chapter. At the end Dr Shah has given some cases of Veratrum.
Dr Ronak Shah is a practicing homoeopath from Vadodara, Gujarat. This is his maiden effort. It is a good book, which should be read by all serious students of Homoeopathy so they can more easily spot a Veratrum-alb in their clinics. The English - is extremely poor. I do wish someone would rephrase a lot of the book to improve both language and grammar in the second edition. Though it is not our language, ie not our mother-tongue, yet, since we have decided to publish our first book in that language, enough attention should be paid to this aspect. The language robs the author of much of the praise due to him for an otherwise praiseworthy first effort.
To illustrate his approach:
