The author writes about the life of his famous veterinarian father.

No one is better placed to write the biography of Alf Wight, alias James Herriot, than the son who worked alongside him in the veterinary practice during the time that James Herriot became a bestselling author. In this warm and often poignant memoir Jim Wight writes of a man who, despite his huge success as a writer, remained unchanged by wealth and fame; an essentially private person whose family had to share him with his millions of fans throughout the world.

The Best of James Herriot is one of the most extraordinary volumes ever devoted to the work and world of a contemporary writer. Within its covers are unforgettable episodes from the remarkable series of memoirs that began with All Creatures Great and Small-"the ones my family and I have laughed at over the years and the ones my readers have said they most enjoyed," as Herriot, himself, put it. Yet the book is far more than a simple anthology: Its gorgeous pages also include hundreds of line drawings and color photographs, capturing Herriot's Yorkshire in a worthy complement to the writer's words. The 1991 publication of Every Living Thing, rendered the original edition of this book incomplete. This fall will mark the publication of the complete, definitive edition with the addition of five of his best, more recent stories, as well as new art. Once again The Best of James Herriot becomes the quintessential Herriot volume-one of those invaluable books that will be loved as much in decades to come as it is today.

Winter 2000

The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of All Creatures Great and Small reflects on the rewards of training the next generation of veterinarians. As an aging James Herriot begins to see more house pets than livestock, the challenge of treating animals—and reassuring their owners—provides plenty of excitement, mystery, and moments of sheer delight. After building up his own practice, the renowned country vet begins to teach a new generation about a business both old-fashioned and very modern. He watches with pride as his own children show a knack for medicine, and remarks on the talents and quirks of a string of assistants. There is no perfecting the craft, since people and their animals are all remarkably different, but Herriot proves that the best healers are also the most compassionate.

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.