I visited my first hot spring while touring around Bolivia in 1975, and have been hooked on them ever since.
Although part of the medical mainstream in Europe and Japan, therapeutic hot spring bathing is relatively unknown in North America despite the fact that there are over 200 commercial springs and thousands of smaller ones, primarily in the Western United States and Canada; there are also healing springs in New York, Arkansas, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia.
Most are ancient Native American sacred springs that were re-discovered by European settlers during the 1700's and 1800's, and many enjoyed great popularity 100 years ago. Balneotherapy- using natural mineral spring water for the prevention and cure of disease- continued to thrive in Europe and Japan and is only recently making a big comeback in the United States. Although most people here "take the waters" for relaxation and recreation, others are rediscovereing the ancient healing properties of hot springs and mineral springs.
Healing Springs is the first book published in the USA since 1927 to present medical evidence that mineral springs can prevent and cure a wide variety of health problems, including arthritis, rheumatism, heart, liver, kidney and circulatory diseases, skin diseases, gastrointestinal disorders and diabetes. Hot spring bathing is also great for reducing stress and strengthening the immune system. In addition to listing more than 200 of the best hot springs and mineral springs around the world and the health conditions best treated at each, the book reviews additional healing techniques that best complement hot spring bathing and therapeutic drinking, including acupuncture, massage, mud baths, physical therapy and fitness training.
I did much of the research for this book at one of the foremost libraries dedicated to medical balneology and climatology in the world, located at the Université Henri Poincaré in Nancy, France. I also visited medical centers and consulted with leading experts in medical balneology from France, Germany and Japan. The book also contains over 120 color and black and white photos from hot springs around the world, including a few I took myself. I really enjoyed writing this book and feel that it's one of the best I've ever written.
Healing Springs: The Ultimate Guide to Taking the Waters. Healing Arts Press, 2000. Paper, 320 pages. $18.95. ISBN 0-89281-836-0. To order Healing Springs: The Ultimate Guide to Taking the Waters, click here.
To return to Books page, click the image. 
