Ayurveda: Life, Health, and Longevity

by Robert E. Svoboda

An introduction to the ancient and current Indian science of ayurvedic medicine. Chapters on history, basic principles, food, pathology and diagnosis are included. Ayurveda is essentially herbalist, very ancient and very thorough. This book is relatively jargon-free and is based on core ancient Indian texts.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140193227
• ISBN13: 9780140193220
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Ayurveda: Life, Health and Longevity

I am familiar with other books on Ayurveda such a YOGA AND AYURVEDA by Frawley and THE YOGA OF HERBS by Frawley and Lad. I have also read other books written by Svoboda on the subject of Jyotish. This book delivers the contents of Ayurveda thoroughly with a flavor of academia. Svoboda's style seems more analytical and scientific and has a knack for summarizing theory, philosophy, and the wisdom of a concept in a sentence. His expertise on Ayurveda is evident and I will keep this book as a reference. I highly recommend it.

The Best Introduction to Ayurveda Out There

Excellent introduction to the subject by one of the foremost practitioners and teachers of Ayurveda in the western world. highly recommended

In-depth presentation of the theory of Ayurveda

This is an excellent book to understand the theoretical basis of Ayurvedic medicine. The complexity of Ayurveda's theory is often overlooked for its knowledge of herbs and diet. Vasant Lad's "The Science of Self-Healing: A Practical Guide..." is very useful for such practical information; anyone wanting a quick perusal of what Ayurveda can offer should consult his book. For those already familiar with Ayurveda or medicine, however, this book opens your mind. His writing style is excellent (certainly a higher level than Vasant Lad's books), but very engaging and easy to read. I do not know how to describe his style (you should look at excepts), but he takes you through every aspect of Ayurvedic medicine, starting with the fundamentals. Almost like a narrative, he tells the story of the Ayurvedic view of the human being and the universe, thus illustrating what the Ayurvedic philosophy means. One criticism I have is that he does not cite his references. This is particularly problematic when he refers to "recent discoveries" or what "modern science" says; he has a bibliography, but that mostly contains books pertinent to Ayurveda. Also, some of the comparisons he makes to allopathic medicine and anatomy are questionable, such as the existence of a deposit of magnetic metal in the frontal bone of the skull. As a student at a US medical school, I would advise to take some of these comparisons with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, he is familiar with the ideas and theory behind allopathic medicine, and he makes thought-provoking comparisons to the Ayurvedic system. I highly recommend this book to those who want a further understanding of the philosophy that is Ayurveda.

Excellent introduction to Ayurveda.

If you want to understand the history of Ayurveda and the basic concepts of this science of life, read this book. I'm presently reading several ayurveda books and this one has impress me very much with its clarity and Dr. Svoboda way of writing. There are other great books on this subject by Dr. Vasant Lad.

Pure guide

This is indispensable for serious students.