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James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet Hardcover – September 11, 1997

by Lord (Author), Russell Lord (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 463 ratings
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In this first full portrait of one of the world's most beloved animal writers, a noted biographer affectionately reveals the man behind the myth, exploring his tragedies and triumphs in intimate detail. 65,000 first printing.
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Da Capo Press
  4. Publication date
    September 11, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0786704608
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0786704606
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Lord, former literary editor and books columnist of the Sunday Express in the United Kingdom, offers a warm, candid portrait of one of the most beloved authors in recent times. James Herriot, born Alf Wight (1916-95), was able to attend veterinary college despite a poor childhood in Scotland. In 1940, he joined a practice in Yorkshire where, though underpaid, he remained for his entire career. After years of receiving rejections from publishers, the unassuming veterinarian finally had a book published in 1970?the autobiographical If Only They Could Talk (Book 1 of All Creatures Great and Small in the United States) under the name James Herriot. Herriot's gentle books on the life of a country vet were huge best sellers, largely because of Lord's early review, and later became films and a popular TV series. Lord's frequent musings on Herriot's embellishing details of his life for print weaken an otherwise strong narrative?after all, Lord shows us that Herriot was modest and self-effacing in the extreme. An entertaining and poignant remembrance; highly recommended.?Diane G. Premo, Rochester P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A well-tempered, well-researched biography of the world's most famous veterinarian, from novelist Lord (God and All His Angels, 1997, etc.). After buying over 50 million copies of his books chronicling the gentle meanderings of a country vet, readers may feel they have a pretty good handle on the life of Alf Wight, a.k.a. James Herriot. Not so, claims Wight's good friend Lord, whose 1972 review of It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet in London's Sunday Express pushed Herriot to the forefront. According to Lord, the books are pretty much one part fact to two parts creative writing. As he details the life of Wight, from his boyhood in Glasgow to his death of prostate cancer in 1995, Lord never suggests that the vet was anything other than modest, self-effacing, and kind, or that the Yorkshire dales that Wight so magically evoked--``the sparkling streams, the birds calling in the huge silences, the wide-open spaces''--were anything less than cozy in the extreme. But he does want to set the record as straight as possible, fussing with dates, calling into suspicion various war stories spun by Wight, and unmasking the true personalities of Siegfried, Helen, Tristan, et al., none of whom shines under Lord's scrutiny. The author has unearthed plenty of nuggets, such as Wight's nervous breakdown, brought on by depression stemming from brucellosis (transmitted by infected pregnant cows), and the debt Wight owed to an ex-hairdresser from Pinner, and he also does a good job analyzing the simple, direct style Wight brought to his homey material, both in his own critique and in interviews with Wight's publishers and editors. Lord is a bit too bedazzled by the wealth Wight amassed and seems obsessed with the vet's denying that he kept a diary when he obviously did, but otherwise he sticks to the facts, and his ocassional conjectures feel plausable. Doubtless this biography will be a feast for the Herriot hordes. (photos) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press; First American Edition (September 11, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786704608
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786704606
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 463 ratings

About the author

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Graham Lord

Graham Lord

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Graham Lord has published nineteen books: nine novels, seven biographies, two autobiographies, and an anthology of his short stories, essays, travel articles and journalism, 'Lord of the Files.' All of them are available as Amazon Kindle ebooks, and descriptions and reviews of all his books can be read at www.graham-lord.com and www.fernhillbooks.co.uk.

His most recent novel is a comic adventure/love story about a small Caribbean island, 'Under a Hammock Moon,' and his most recent memoir describes more than a hundred writers, actors, politicians and other celebrated people whom he met during forty years as a Fleet Street journalist, 'Lord's Ladies and Gentlemen: 100 Legends of the 20th Century.'

His books have been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Russian and Chinese.

Born in 1943 in Southern Rhodesia and also educated in what is now Zimbabwe, he was raised in Mozambique, took an honours degree in History at Cambridge, edited the university newspaper Varsity and joined the Sunday Express in London, where he spent 23 years as Literary Editor, wrote a weekly column about books and interviewed almost every major English language author of the 1960s to 1990s, from P. G. Wodehouse and Graham Greene to Muriel Spark and Ruth Rendell.

In 1987 he launched the £20,000 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award and after leaving the Sunday Express in 1992 wrote regularly for The Daily Telegraph, The Times and the Daily Mail, and from 1994 to 1996 he edited the short story magazine Raconteur.

He has two daughters, lives in the West Indies and the South of France with his wife, Juliet, a highly talented artist, and he is writing his tenth novel.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
463 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2024
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BUT, Please read all of the Herriot books first or this book will ruin the enchantment of those books. This book is a history lesson and a tell-all of the other books.
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Paulette p
4.0 out of 5 stars this book will take nothing away from the life of a loving and caring vet
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2015
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this was alot more informative than i believe most people need to know about alf or james herriot. does it really matter how he grew up and how his parents were. NO. the real point was it was about james herriot and the love he had for his parents, children and his wife. he loved the job he had and on the side he wrote books about his job what could be better. i have loved everyone of his books i also would of loved to have met him. graham lord at times seemed like he wanted to knock alf down a few steps because he was such a sweet person. don,t try to change alf or james herriot he was one of those rare people who got to live the life he wanted, is that so bad? NO!
5 people found this helpful
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Jo
5.0 out of 5 stars James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2014
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I am a big fan of all the Herriot books, aka Alf Wight. I read for pleasure and I have been known to leave unfinished books that others claim are superb. The reason: boring writing, waaaay too much detail (as in Tom Clancy's books and his love affair with the detail of the guns or something else), vulgarities or explicit sex in every paragraph. These stories are well written in my opinion, humorous and, to me, very interesting as he writes about the local people and the area. I have nearly every book he wrote...and I highly recommend them for those who love animals as well as people in general.
This author has captured what the life is like and what James/Alf was like.
4 people found this helpful
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Bubblehead
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023
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I was late reading the James Herriot books, but when I did I realized how educational and enjoyable they are. This book is a great read about the book and the characters therein.
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Boston joe
3.0 out of 5 stars brings a balance but is it accurate?
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2012
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I liked the fact of Lord's book, because it gave a perspective on Alf Wight because I like books that try to examine a person behind the image they, or their friends and family try to portray. In theory at least it should be more accurate. Before I talk about the book itself, let me express my views about "fiction" vs. "non-fiction."

Like many readers, the James Herriot books have had a great grip on me. Part of the grip was the fact that this was purported to be autobiographical not fiction. The accounts of a real man telling his life are much more compelling than a novel based on the real man's life. Reviews I have read here say "It doesn't matter if it's really fiction or non-fiction" but I think it does. If it's not true, there is question whether it should be called "non-fiction."

In this case, it seems clear that the book is non-fiction in that it used real incidents, based on real Yorkshire characters (including the Siegried and Tristan characters). But it also clear (and affirmed by Jim Wight, Alf's son), that facts were altered, time sequences were altered, characters were composited and sometimes toned down, and some of the incidents in the "autobiography" happened to other vets, not him. It seemed clear to me, also, on rereading the books, that incidents were exaggerated in the interest of a good story. So are they fiction or non-fiction?

The difference between "biased on real events" and "non-fiction" is important to me. One wants to know whether one is reading an honest account or a romanticized one.

I applaud Lord for trying to take on this problem, but I agree with other readers that he didn't do as good a job as he should have. He relies way too much on others' recollections (as suspect as Alf Wight's, if not more so), and his facts may well not be accurate.

I think Alf Wight's books do a masterful job of straddling the line between fiction and non-fiction. I would like to think that in the essentials the books are non-fiction, if not strictly autobiographical.They certainly are well-crafted as non-fiction, but I personally want to know which is which. Jim Wight's biography does seem to do a better job addressing that issue, and I question whether he would have written it if Lord hadn't written his book first.

Like Henry Miller, (anybody know who he is) Alf Wight has created an alter ego which seems very close to his real character but how close? How many incidents actually happened...to him...and when? And there are statements that seem important to verify as truthful or not...like the story about Siegried giving James Herriot a check for fifty pounds, claiming it was money the practice owed him, but really was a gift. Herriot ends the chapter by saying: "I have never thanked Siegfried.Until now." DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN? I would like to know, and it makes a difference in the character of Siegfried. The biographies do not portray Donald Sinclair as "generous", but did he do that?

Maybe I am a lone voice in the wilderness in my quest for truth, but there you have it.
10 people found this helpful
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Lawrence
5.0 out of 5 stars Warm remembrance of James Herriot
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2019
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This a warm remembrance of an interesting person and the well-loved author Alf Wight (James Herriot). Graham Lord knew Alf personally for many years, and filled in some aspects of his life with well- researched details that fill out the real person. Anyone who has enjoyed the Herriot books or the well-made television series will like learning more about the Yorkshire vet in this well- written account.
8 people found this helpful
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Michael E. Rugg
4.0 out of 5 stars The complexities of authorship and historical perseption of a great storyteller.
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2021
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While initially I was put off by the negativity of the author toward Wight, I eventually found him to be fairly complimentary. He put the life story of a truly humble man in perspective, and expanded his life and times, stories and more into a truly incredible saga. Truth or fiction, the Herriot exploits will remain a testament to a truly magnificent man.
One person found this helpful
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Nikolay Karelin
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellently researched and vividly plotted biography of one of most original author of 20th century
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2013
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Graham Lord knew Alf Wight (James Harriot) personally. in a sense, Harriot himself admitted that he become a rel writer after review of one of his stories by Graham Lord. In addition, Graham Lord is a born biography writer - he knows how to research all minute details of childhood, youth etc. of some person and then present this as vivid, detailed but not overwhelming picture of the past.

I really enjoy the book.

The only omission is that Kindle edition does not contain photos. Hey, people at Amazon, please don't forget the pictures in electronic books!
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing.
Reviewed in India on July 15, 2021
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I didn't like it much ..it seemed like a book of facts and figures.. Especially after reading the other biography by the son, which was more frank and realistic... Also Graham Lord begins his review with the statement that most of Herriot's works are fictitious, which for me personally atleast was heart breaking to read after having enjoyed all the funny incidents in his stories.. , also after reading in Jim's biography the statement that 90% of the stories are from real life incidents, some events actually experienced by the son and told to the father for the sake of making a story of it..

So on the whole, I won't read this fully.
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Mr R
5.0 out of 5 stars Book review.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2021
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Good service and delivery, everything as described.
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Blue Lake Bookster
2.0 out of 5 stars Lord God why was this book ever published
Reviewed in Australia on March 19, 2024
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Graham Lord makes a great deal over his role in the James Herriot story, basically claiming that a review he wrote in a paper following the first book was almost totally responsible for its subsequent success. While I'm sure positive publicity helps any author, Lord inserts himself into the subject matter far too much throughout this book, offering opinions and speculations galore without much any evidence to back these up. It's often petty, inaccurate and mean spirited about Alf Wight, the real James Herriot and was clearly little more than a cash in. Fortunately the Herriot legacy will never be tarnished by such tawdry tie in books.
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W. James Humphrys
5.0 out of 5 stars Great service also
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2016
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A very interesting and informative book,. Great service also. Thank you.
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Gordon
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good read, informative and entertaining
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2016
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Very good read, informative and entertaining.
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