A Manual of Acupuncture: Closer Look

The book A Manual Of Acupuncture by Peter Deadman, Mazin Al-Khafaji, with Kevin Baker is an acupuncture textbook covering the 14 major channels, extraordinary points, and general acupuncture information. One of the most compelling aspects of this book is its careful reference to classical acupuncture literature when discussing the function of acupuncture points. Its general layout, table of contents, index, and method of detailing acupuncture point information makes this book very user friendly and a pleasure to read. Noteworthy are the illustrations that make point and channel location a very simple task.

A special section labeled “location note” is included with most acupuncture points. This section makes finding acupuncture points a highly accurate and straightforward process. The commentaries on acupuncture points are highly detailed with rich historical clinical references and quotes from classical Chinese medicine texts. Moreover, an ample list of acupuncture point combinations for various applications accompanies most acupuncture points.

There are several sections covering interesting acupuncture topics. One section, for example, covers cun measurements, point location, and the location of major organs. Another section covers the cutaneous regions and the 8 Extraordinary Vessels. It is nicely illustrated and accessible to everyone from the student to the expert. This book is also available on CD-ROM. The CD provides an easy process to lookup acupuncture information by a numerical point index, point name index, indication index, combination index, general index, and it also includes a glossary.

This acupuncture book gets a top rating. It is accurate, well documented, and beautifully designed.