Product Description

"Absolutely super, a rarity, magnificently written, insightful, unforgettable. . . . If you have ever loved a friend, human or otherwise, this is the book for you."
--Houston Chronicle

The classic multimillion copy bestseller

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.
For over thirty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. From caring for his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

"[Herriot] is the most entertaining, most thoroughly likeable, most engaging person to have come along in a long time, and the stories he has to tell are fascinating."
--The Washington Post

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63657 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312330859
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Herriot has a real flair for writing and his book is a treat." -- Publishers Weekly

"James Herriot . . . is one of those rare men who know how to appreciate the orddinary . . . a natural storyteller." -- The New York Times

"One of the funniest and most likeable books around." -- The Atlantic Monthly

"This warm, joyous and often hilarious first-person chronicle of a young animal doctor . . . shines with love of life." -- The New York Times Book Review

Review

About the Author
James Herriot was born in Scotland and practiced veterinary medicine in Yorkshire, England, for half a century until he died in 1995. He is the author of more than twenty books, including the bestseller All Creatures Great and Small.

Customer Reviews

Everything "Great" (and sometimes small)
If you ever wanted to be a vet... "All Creatures Great and Small" will either inspire, or send you running off to be a lawyer. Heartwarming, funny, sad and highly educational, James Herriot's debut biography (he wrote five in all) give readers the whole messy, glorious picture of being a 1940s country veterinarian.

The book opens (after a brief chapter taking place several months later) with James arriving in Yorkshire, to be the assistant to the eccentric but kindly Siegfried Farnon (yes, that is his name). He becomes accustomed to Siegfried, Siegfried's mischievous younger brother Tristan (yes, that is his name), and the gruff, kindly farmers who eke out a living in the Yorkshire Dales.

Among the oddballs James encounters: Pampered pooches, savage pigs who chase Tristan around the farm, a nightmarishly strict secretary who drives Siegfried up the wall, James's brakeless car, cows running on three cylinders, a sadistic vet who makes James wear a rubber bodysuit, and an elderly, immensely wealthy widow who adopts a pig. And through this, James falls in love with the beautiful Helen Alderson and worms his way into the trust of the farmers.

James Herriot (real name, James Wight) was truly a one-of-a-kind man. He let readers into his head throughout the book, where the cows kick him across the yard, farmers often treat him as an interloper or a nuisance, and his boss gives contradicting orders from one day to the next. But he never loses his drive or his love of animals. Okay, he hates some animals, but only as individuals.

He even lets the readers see him at his worst, when he's humiliated by some recalcitrant livestock, and one horrible scene where he and his date show up drunk and mud-smeared in front of the girl he adores. (Not to mention when Tristan got him to use very feminine-smelling bath salts) But don't think that all of these stories are funny or romantic -- quite a few are aggravating or outright sad. James didn't soften the blows at all.

There are a lot of details about surgery and animal care that will nauseate the squeamish, but at least you'll learn a lot of medical trivia. For example, what is a torsion? Herriot tells you early on, when he documents his nerve-wracking first case. But more than that, his love of animals is infectious -- it's easy to come out of this with a new appreciation for ordinary dogs, cows, cats, and so on.

The people around James are just as fantastic: Siegfried, his weird but genial boss who can kick Tristan out of the house and forget about it overnight; Tristan, the mischievous anti-scholar who usually manages to keep out of trouble; and Helen, who seems a little too saintly at times (which isn't surprising, since James married her).

It's sweet, sad, funny, romantic, dramatic, and full of the blood and sweat of vet work. "All Creatures Great And Small" is a truly unique and heartwarming biography.

A Nearly Irresistible Memoir of a Country Veterinarian
All Creatures Great and Small opens an unforgettable series of personal memoirs by a country veterinarian in 1940's Yorkshire (also known as James Alfred Wight). These are written in a series of short chapter vignettes, with a warm, wry humor that vividly, affectionately, and sometimes mercilessly captures human nature in the context of this cultural scene. Many descriptions are laugh-out-loud hilarious, and will be spontaneously read aloud to the nearest listener. But Herriot is no cynic -- his writing pokes fun at himself at least as often as others, and his self-deprecating wit provides an appeal that is near irresistible. This first book in the series follows Herriot's starting-out years as a vet, his induction into Siegfried Farnon's local practice, his adjustment to the local ways and customs, and his courtship of the lovely Helen Alderson.

A country vet's life involves a lot of bloody and sometimes gross work, which will appeal to some readers and may repel others. There is an obvious appeal for animal lovers and potential medical students, as he treats both pets and farm animals, and Herriot sets a good moral example through his kindhearted willingness to undergo inconvenience and indignity for the sake of the animals under his care. Implicit throughout his books is the belief that humans have a responsibility to provide good care to the animals who serve them.

In his portrayal of his Yorkshire clients, he attempts to capture the flavor of their speech, and this does include some profanities. The words "bloody," "hell," and "bugger" appear fairly frequently, but there are few American swear words. Parents ought to use discretion, but I don't think this element should not be too harmful for mature readers.

Because some of the humor is rather sophisticated and Herriot's prose is sometimes difficult, I recommend this for ages 16-18, but if enjoyed with a parent it is quite likely to appeal to younger readers, especially those who have enjoyed Herriot's stories for children James Herriot's Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of All Creatures Great and Small.

good reading for animal lovers
I read this book many years ago. Recently, I had it sent to a grandson who loves animals.