Customer Reviews

Fields and Pastures New: My First Year as a Country Vet

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I own the hardback copy of this book...actually I have owned it for a few years now. It is one of those books that become a literary treasure in your bookcase. I was so hooked on this book when I first got it, I read it from cover to cover in one day...I just couldn't put it down!

Dr. McCormack in the US can be likened to James Herriott of England. His stories of animals that he treated and the start of his career in the 1960's makes the reader feel they are right along side him assisting in whatever procedure needs to be done to his animal patient.

I am a person of great compassion for animals and as a reader, I was truly appreciative that the love and compassion that Dr. McCormack has for his animal patients shines through to the reader's soul. I laughed with this book..I have cried with this book...I have pulled for the sick animal in this book...I have rooted Dr. McCormack through as he treated tough cases in this book.

There are books about animals and then there are the special books about animals because the respect, compassion from the writer is there and the animal patients become real as one reads along the journey in the book.

If you are a James Herriott fan or an animal lover who is a reader, I highly, and I stress highly, suggest getting this book and reading it!

I bought this book several years ago from a book club. I've read it several times a year since then and each time I read it I can't put it down. Would be a fantastic book for students of any grade/age level, or something to read to the sight-impaired at your local nursing home!

This book relates some of McCormack's adventures as the new vet in a southern country town during the early 1960s. McCormack grew up on a farm in Tennessee. His college roommate, a pre-vet major, interested him in veterinary science. Once he earned his veterinary degree and had a few years of experience under his belt, he set off in search of a town where he could hang up his shingle with an independent veterinary practice. At the time, Butler, Alabama had no licensed vet, so it seemed like a reasonable place for a new vet to make a start. In this book, McCormack describes the characters he met, both human and bovine, during that first year in Butler.

McCormack is a master storyteller. With his careful choice of words, he conveys the character of the place with all its color. While chatting with some locals at a general store, McCormack quipped he went into veterinary rather than human medicine because he didn't like dealing with people. But he tells us that this is absolutely not true-if there's one skill that a vet must have above all others, it's the ability to deal with people, to understand their needs and character. In this book, McCormack regales us with tales of how he came to learn this lesson.

My people are not from Choctaw County, but we're from "around there." This is not only a sympathetic and heartfelt account of a rural vet practice in the sixties; it's a very accurate look at the folks you were likely to meet then and there, both the good and the bad. I have met most of the folks he talks about, or at least their near relations. Dr. McCormack's extended meditation on the verbal mangling of his job description by his neighbors is alone worth the price of admission, although the account of his visit to the Governor's Mansion driving the "rounds vehicle" and a too-long-delayed boar cutting run it very close. Excellent book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and entertaining. I loved the Herriot stories so much, this is another great book about vet stories. It will definately be worth your time.

I had to read this book for my 10th grade english class. At first, I thought this would be a boring book because of its size, but once I got to the fifth chapter, I couldn't put the book down.It has alot of descriptions of animal surgery and all kinds of sicknesses. I would recommend this book to any one who likes farm animals and the country.

I really enjoyed this book. It had good detail, and you really felt like you were going on the rounds with Dr. McCormack. I have read it several times since I bought it, and it is hard to put down each time, even though I know the outcome!

I enjoyed reading how tough it was to convert some of the farmers to the methods of modern veterinary medicine, and it was interesting to read the different methods the farmers had preferred to treat the illnesses in their livestock and pets until their was more modern help available.

This is really a great book. Dr. McCormack is an excellent storyteller. There are many true life "Jerry Clower like" stories throughout this book. I gave my copy to my Dad, a person who rarely reads a book, and he couldn't put it down. It's a great gift for anyone with a farm background.

Fields and Pastures New is a well written book following the first year of a veterinarian moving to practice in a rural southern county. This book contains stories that will make you laugh and cry(in a funny way). A must read for anyone who enjoys true to life stories of people and their pets(pigs and cows included).

What a fun, touching, entertaining read. Actually found myself laughing out loud several times! Highly recommended for those aspiring vets, and for people who just love animals. Looking forward to reading his other books! For those who like these stories, Rosalie Cooper-Chase's 'Close Encounters of the Bovine' is also touching and enjoyable!