Susan Carol Hauser

Does not explain the allergic reaction in enough detail but is nevertheless clear and interesting.

Maple syrup is not an integral part of British food culture. I was introduced to it poured over pancakes with vanilla icecream and I thought it was delicious. (Especially hot poured over a cold Greek yoghurt, but I digress). When I found this book I was interested as I hadn't really made the connection with this delicious syrup and people (almost) hugging trees. Its a really good, short, read and I promise never to buy pancake syrup again but only the pure stuff and not complain about the price.

To be fair, the book was useful. It makes sense now why I'm more sensitive to poison ivy than I was as a kid, and it confirms that abstinence is the best cure. Its hardly a gripping read--what amounts to about 40 thin pages of material is spread across over 100 slightly repetitive ones. Originally copyrighted in 96 and updated in 01, it fails to discuss the pricey high-tech stuff now on the pharmacy shelf.