James Herriot

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 forty 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. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to 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. James Herriot's memoirs have sold 80 million copies worldwide, and continue to delight and entertain readers of all ages

The first two memoirs in the New York Times-bestselling series from an English veterinarian--and the basis for the Masterpiece series on PBS. All Creatures Great and Small: In the rolling dales of Yorkshire--a simple, rural region of Northern England--a young veterinarian from Sunderland joins a new practice. A stranger in an unfamiliar land, James Herriot must quickly learn the odd dialect and humorous ways of the locals, master outdated equipment, and do his best to mend, treat, and heal pets and livestock alike. All Things Bright and Beautiful: After his first day on the job, Herriot's mentor warns him that the life of a country veterinarian is full of small triumphs and big disasters, but that he'd never be bored. From night visits to drafty barns during freezing Northern England winters to the beautiful vitality of rural life in the summertime to the colorful menagerie of animals--and their owners--that pass through his office, Herriot experiences new challenges and joys every day. In these pages, Herriot trains under his eccentric boss in a rustic English village, courts the woman that becomes his wife, and meets the people he would come to write about for a lifetime. This witty and heartwarming collection, based on the author's own experiences, became an international success, winning over animal lovers everywhere. Perhaps better than any other writer, Herriot reveals the ties that bind us to the creatures in our lives. Praise for All Creatures Great and Small: "One of the funniest and most likeable books around." --The Atlantic "Refreshingly original . . . Hilarious, touching, athletic and warming . . . Dr. Herriot's characters . . . rival any from British fiction." ―Los Angeles Times

"A very warm, very engaging read. . . . The reader falls totally under his spell." —Associated Press The second volume in the multimillion copy bestselling series Millions of readers have delighted in the wonderful storytelling and everyday miracles of James Herriot in the over thirty years since his delightful animal stories were first introduced to the world. Now in a new edition for the first time in a decade, All Things Bright and Beautiful is the beloved sequel to Herriot's first collection, All Creatures Great and Small, and picks up as Herriot, now newly married, journeys among the remote hillside farms and valley towns of the Yorkshire Dales, caring for their inhabitants—both two- and four-legged. Throughout, Herriot's deep compassion, humor, and love of life shine out as we laugh, cry, and delight in his portraits of his many, varied animal patients and their equally varied owners. "Humor, realism, sensitivity, earthiness; animals comic and tragic; and people droll, pathetic, courageous, eccentric—all of whom he views with the same gentle compassion and a lively sense of the sad, the ridiculous, and the admirable." —Columbus Dispatch