This is an interesting compendium that attempts to assemble ambitiously a large amount of data on fruits and vegetables available in the North American market. It draws on many sources to describe the therapeutic values of plant derived food. There is a growing interest in the health benefits of traditional foods and this volume provides a fascinating list of health claims associated with a wide range of fruit and vegetables. This reinforces the view that food is man's first medicine, although, of course, identification of active components and stringent verification of health claims remain, in most cases, challenges for the future. The disclaimer that the information provided in this volume should not be relied upon for medical purposes, reinforces this viewpoint. However, the extensive and generally up to date reference list will be a useful starting point for those who wish to follow up on particular points in more detail.

The presentation of much of the information in landscape tables does seem unconventional and I found this format awkward to follow. The nutritional tables suffer from the problems of all data of this type: there is no indication of cultivar, growth stage, harvest stage or storage conditions. All these factors can influence greatly the levels of phytochemicals and so the values give only a broad indication of the content one may expect in a given sample. I found the appendices most useful as a starting point for using internet-based searches of sites such as Wikipedia where much more detailed information can be found for many of the plants and nutrients listed in this volume.