Customer Reviews

Appointments at the Ends of the World: Memoirs of a Wildlife Veterinarian

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As an aspiring wildlife veterinarian myself, this book was a truly inspirational work. Karesh's sense of humor comes through at its best, keeping the tone extremely interesting and constantly flowing. Unlike similar books, Karesh does not bog us down with the "gloom and doom" encountered in his accounts, but he makes a point of it being there. His detailed accounts are very educational and entertaining, although at times technical. However, he sometimes leaves large gaps in the story line... perhaps done on purpose as a way to show the system and conditions under which he has worked and what he has done for the animals.

Some friends have actually been disappointed with this book, thinking that it would be much like James Herriot's cute and romantic veterinary stories. While Karesh's line of work is romantic, his prose is not, and his accounts are quite graphic- such as the okapi with its head infested with maggots that looked like cigarette butts. While this book lacks in furry, cutesy cuddliness, it is superbly complimented with humor, smart sarcasm and extreme respect towards wildlife conservation efforts.

"Appointment..." is a very pleasurable read. The writing is straightforward, not splashy, and entirely engaging. Karesh has provided a look at his unique role in the conservation community and placed it within the context of larger goals. He offers clear understanding of the vast pressures on the environments of threatened and endangered species all around the southern hemisphere, an understanding look at the people who live there, and a glimpse at the dedicated biologists who have made work with wildlife their lives' focus. Karesh includes very interesting "sidebars" to provide a little more information about some of his topics. These are very nice additions to the text. The many photos (black & white interspersed throughout the text with nice line drawings and a color section in the center) enrich the experience. The photos are not "professional" and their immediacy and sometimes casual quality increase the connection between the reader and the experience, I believe.

Karesh comes across as unassuming, kind, and extraordinarily competent, and with a generous sense of humor. He does not take his work lightly, though. Travelling continually, his skills and experience as a veterinarian are helping provide data critical to the understanding of the health and management needs of indigenous populations of animals and their ecosystems. At the same time he is helping to establish a level of competence in the local scientific communities to sustain the research and to support successful conservation strategies. Karesh does not paint a pretty picture of the status of wildlife, but he does offer an optimistic forecast if each of us accepts the challenge to make a difference. I highly recommend "Appointment..." to those who enjoy stories of wildlife "up-close," who are interested in wildlife research trends and challenges, who enjoy outdoor adventure with a practical bent, who wanted as kids to be veterinarians (and really still do), who welcome subtle inspiration, and who want to get to know someone who seems like a really nice guy.

This book gives a wonderful picture of the plight of wild animals and the wildlife veterinarian. As a small animal vet in the US, I was fascinated by the accounts of animal care. As a travel enthusiast it was a great travel dialogue. As an animal lover, the conservation aspect of the book was informative. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves animals.

Memoirs of a veterinarian who travels around the world doctoring rare and wild animals. Ya got your seal pups in Peru, your okapi in Zaire, and, my favorite, your orangutans in Borneo (plus lots of other countries and critters). This was a very enjoyable book, though it wasn't always as well-written as it could've been (a few stilted passages, a few unnecessary ones, etc.). But I didn't read a book by a vet for its literary value, obviously. I read it because I love animals and always wanted to be a vet myself. I would never have had the courage Karesh has, though, which is what makes living vicariously through his stories so much more fun. Recommended to anybody who likes James Herriot and going to the zoo.

"APPOINTMENT" is the best book of the century, I did not want to put it down. Not only did I find this book educational, but amusing as well. DR. Karesh explains to you in his book what he is doing and why? he also gives you a little bit of history of the country he is in. I found this book so facinating that I met with DR. Karesh in his office at the BRONX ZOO.DR. Karesh is a fine writer, and hope to see another book of his travels in the wild.I take my hat off to you,you are a caring individual who cares about the WILD LIFE and wants to keep it from going EXTENT. RAY Raimist

I read this book when it first came out three years ago, and I still think about it. His stories about the wonderful animals around the world touched my heart and I would highly reccomend this book if you enjoy reading about animals.

"Appointment at the Ends of the World," written by William B. Karesh, was published by Warner Books in 1999 with 376 pages. Karesh is a wildlife veterinarian who works with wild animals in exotic places around the world, ranging from saving the life of a wounded okapi in Zaire to collecting DNA samples from orangutans in Borneo. He is the founding director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Field Veterinary Program. In this book, Karesh shares his most memorable experiences, some of which were life threatening. Karesh wants to show the reader how much work is put into saving threatened species by the dedicated people committed to help these wild animals. This is a book for anybody interested in the state of our global wildlife.

Karesh studies wild animals to see how to protect them from being wiped out. This is essential for the ecological balance on the earth. His specialty is determining the health of wildlife populations and the safe handling of wild animals. A small part of his time is spent helping fund-raising activities to financially support the projects he needs to do, whether its speaking to selected groups or by helping to write grant proposals. The research done on the field is to learn as much as possible about the species and our interactions with them to help plan for the future. What Karesh normally does on the field is try to dart the animal to temporarily knock it out so he can take a blood sample from the animal. He studies the blood sample to check the general health of the animal, and after many samples, he can come up with the general health of the species in that area.

Karesh travels the world to study different animals in all types in environments. The experiences he shares take place in the 1990s. One of the places Karesh visited is Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). Here, Karesh provided emergency surgery to a badly injured okapi in a captive breeding facility. In Zaire, he had to fight off the...customs officials at a tiny airport that tried to take away his equipment like his dart gun. Much of his energy, he says, is spent simply getting in and out of each country. "I can spend a week going through an unbelievable amount of hassle to spend 30 minutes working on an animal." On the same trip, he took blood samples from enraged buffalo using his dart gun. He also visited Bolivia, South America. Deep in the Amazon rain forest, Karesh and a small team penned and darted the rare and dangerous white-lipped peccary, a distant pig relative whose habit of travelling huge distances make them nearly impossible to locate. Here, Karesh has an encounter with a jaguar that stalked him. Another experience Karesh shares in the book took place in Cameroon, Africa. Here, Karesh had to get drunk with the local tribesmen before setting out to find the elusive forest elephant to put radio collars on them and track their movements by satellite. In this process, he almost got stomped by an elephant. Karesh spent weeks at a remote ranger station in Peru studying macaws a hundred feet above the jungle canopy. He also studied fur seals' health and habitat in one of Peru's seacoasts. Finally he visited Borneo, where he used an amazing new dart gun to collect DNA samples from orangutans' skin without drugging them.

This book showed me how much time and effort is spent by people like Karesh to protect threatened species. I saw how they risk their lives and give up basic luxuries that people in America take for granted since most of the places they visit are in isolated areas in under-developed countries. I had never heard of many of the animals he talks about in the book. For example, I never knew there were such things as peccaries and okapis before reading this book, let alone they were in danger. Also, I learned from the book why people like Karesh do the work they do on the field. By radio-collaring the elephants, they were able to track the elephants to learn how much space they need to live so WCS knows how much land needs to be protected in Cameroon for the elephants. Karesh doesn't just focus on animals the entire story. He also shares what it's like living in the countries he visited such as explaining the political turmoil that went on in Zaire. Karesh explains to the reader what ecotourism is and how it affects the animals. Many countries support ecotourism because it provides money to help animals, but it can also have negative effects on the animals, especially when resorts are built in the same area.

I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn more about animals and the conservation of our planet, or enjoys books with a lot of adventure. This book is part travelogue, part conservation primer, and all-adventure thriller. I found some very interesting facts about wild animals I never knew before. For example, I learned that orangutans are so intelligent, they can pick locks on their cages. The book shows the reader what it's like to live in some of the most remote places on the Earth. This book isn't just educational; it's also adventurous and humorous. He describes the times when he was eye to eye with a jaguar and almost got trampled by an elephant. His vivid descriptions make it feel like the reader is actually there. I found the encounter with the customs in Zaire very funny. During that experience, the "officials" tried to make up every single kind of fee to be able to get as much money and confiscate as much equipment as they can. For example, one man charged Karesh $10 just for using white-out to update is home address on a certificate. Just like there were high points, there were low points to the book with explanations I found a bit too long, but overall, I think this is a great book to read.

This book provides a rare insight into the world of conservation. As a supporter of many animal-related causes, I was not familar with the WCS' work. While writing a great memoir that entertains the best adventurer, the author educates us on the politics of species conservation programs. As with anything where money is the foundation, the true purpose often gets lost. This author represents the many people who put their heart and souls into this important work. In writing this review, I hope that Dr. Karesh reads it. Please, in your next edition, put an appendix that tells people more about how to contact WCS to support its work and what lay people can otherwise do to support the right organizations doing the right thing. There are so many organizations out there it becomes overwhelming for people to sort their way through. On a more personal note, the sacrifices you and others have made in your personal lives to do the work you do is beyond most people's understanding. But keeping things in perspective, I work in Silicon Valley where the almighty dollar is the main goal. Everyone here works terrible hours in the hopes that they might be the next dot.com king. Remember that when your day is done, as well as theirs, you are the one that has made the difference. If you are ever in San Jose, come visit the pride of our small endeavors, Happy Hollow Park and Zoo!

Since the largest portion of the book was about his sojourns in central Africa, it's quite obvious that this is his favorite place, but his adventures in Indonesia, South America, and other remote locales were interesting as well. The book was as much about his colleagues and friends as it was about him.

His "postcards", which described local culture, history, and politics, were essential to understanding his missions.

You can learn the most about him by Googling Billy Karesh; this appears to be what he wishes to be called.

Karesh's contribution to wildlife study is honest and important because he writes realistically and not romantically about the state of life on the planet from his perspective: a member of the caring professions. Thanks for sharing, Doc.