Product Description

No one is better poised to write the biography of James Herriot than the son who worked alongside him in the Yorkshire veterinary practice when Herriot became an internationally bestselling author. Now, in this warm and poignant memoir, Jim Wight talks about his father--the beloved veterinarian whom his family had to share with half the world.

Alf Wight (aka James Herriot) grew up in Glasgow, where he lived during a happy rough-and-tumble childhood and then through the challenging years of training at the Glasgow Veterinary College. The story of how the young vet later traveled to the small Yorkshire town of Thirsk, aka Darrowby, to take the job of assistant vet is one that is well known through James Herriot's internationally celebrated books and the popular All Creatures Great and Small television series.

But Jim Wight's biography ventures beyond the trials and tribulations of his father's life as a veterinarian to reveal the man behind the stories--the private individual who refused to allow fame and wealth to interfere with his practice or his family. With access to all of his father's papers, correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs--and intimate remembrances of all the farmers, locals, and friends who populate the James Herriot books--only Jim Wight could write this definitive biography of the man who was not only his father but his best friend.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1394717 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-01
• Released on: 2000-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 371 pages

From AudioFile
James Herriot, author of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL and other books, is probably the world's most famous veterinarian. In real life, the author was Alf Wight, an unassuming country vet in Scotland with a talent for writing. His son, Jim Wight, has written a readable and interesting biography of his father. Readers of ALL CREATURES who don't know much about Alf Wight will enjoy this look behind the pages. They'll discover the real Siegfried Farnon and his brother, Tristan. But to readers who already know a bit about the author, Jim Wight breaks little new ground. The reader is Christopher Timothy, the lead actor in the TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" and the reader of the audio versions of several Herriot works. He does a solid, even engaging job. But he's so clearly identified as James Herriot, it can be a bit disorienting when he says something like "my father," and means James, and not James's father. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"Inspiring and heartwarming . . . A fascinating look at the man behind the bestselling books that touched so many lives."
--JACK CANFIELD
   Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Detailed and thorough . . . The real-life models for the colorful characters and incidents in the Herriot books are lovingly explained throughout, making the book feel like an earnest 'making of' documentary."
--The New York Times Book Review

From the Back Cover
"Inspiring and heartwarming . . . A fascinating look at the man behind the bestselling books that touched so many lives."
--JACK CANFIELD
Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Detailed and thorough . . . The real-life models for the colorful characters and incidents in the Herriot books are lovingly explained throughout, making the book feel like an earnest 'making of' documentary."
--The New York Times Book Review


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

A Personal Glimpse at a Favorite Author
This is a most enjoyable book allowing a glimpse into the life of one of my favorite authors. It was interesting to learn about the situations that molded the life of James Herriot (Alf Wight).

The Real James Herriot
-James Herriot was a country animal doctor who recanted his life into stories, which became All Creatures Great and Small and other books and audios. His son, Jim Wight, upon his father's death, composed a tribute to a man we all thought we knew in The Real James Herriot. The abridged audio version is narrated by TV's James Herriot, actor Christopher Timothy. His familiar tramping of the characters and Herriot's words makes him the perfect choice to read this veneration.