Book Review: The Real James Herriot by Jim Wright

The Real James Herriot
by Jim Wright (B H4355w)

 

Having recently read all of James Herriot’s books, I decided that I wanted to know more about the author of these delightful stories. Within our own collection of biographies is an excellent biography of Alf Wight (the man behind the books) as told by his son, Jim Wight. No one could have done a better job in relating all of the things that made Alf such a master storyteller than the man who spent his entire life working alongside his father in the Yorkshire veterinary practice that Alf Wight describes so lovingly through his books. Alf Wight had been approached many times by publishers wanting to write his biography, but he had always turned them down. In his later years, he told his son Jim that if ever a biography were to be written about him, he would want his son to be the one to do it. Jim Wight would be the first to tell you that he was not a writer, but he accepted the challenge as a testament of his respect and love for the man whom he called Dad and with whom he worked side by side in the veterinary practice in Thirsk.

 

This was a deeply personal book, relating Alf’s experiences growing up in Glasgow, Scotland and the difficulties of his early years as a veterinarian in Yorkshire. Although Alf Wight did a wonderful job of showing the trials and triumphs of his career, we get to see behind the scenes with descriptions of health problems he faced, in particular, his bouts with depression. This is an excellent book and filled with the same humor that I cherished so much in the James Herriot books. If you want to know more about the “real” James Herriot, then look no further. Here you will find “a totally honest man whose fine sense of humor and air of goodwill towards other ensured that he was respected by all who knew him.”

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try James Herriot’s Yorkshire, All Creatures Great and Small, or any other titles by James Herriot.)

 

( official www.jamesheriot.org web site ) | ( official worldofjamesherriot.com web site ) | ( Wikipedia article on James Herriot )

 

See Kim J.’s review of the new PBS series All Creatures Great and Small in the June 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

See Kim J.’s review of James Herriot’s The Lord God Made Them All in the September 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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