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All Creatures Great and Small #7
The Lord God Made Them All
With each book more embraceable than the last, James Herriot once again brings us the magical beauty of Yorkshire through his heartwarming experiences as a country veterinarian. These new stories provide a grand finale to the wonderful books that began with all Creatures Great and Small.
It is just after World War II, and James has returned from the R.A.F. to do battle with the diseases and injuries that befall the farm animals and pets of Skeldale and the surrounding moors. Four-year-old Jimmy Herriot, Humphrey Cobb and his little beagle Myrtle, Norman the book-loving veterinary assistant, and many more new faces join old favorites among the green hills of Yorkshire, as James takes an unforgettable voyage to Russia on a freighter with 383 pedigreed sheep. Touching our hearts with laughter and wisdom, lifting our spirits with compassion and goodness, James Herriot never fails to delight.
It is just after World War II, and James has returned from the R.A.F. to do battle with the diseases and injuries that befall the farm animals and pets of Skeldale and the surrounding moors. Four-year-old Jimmy Herriot, Humphrey Cobb and his little beagle Myrtle, Norman the book-loving veterinary assistant, and many more new faces join old favorites among the green hills of Yorkshire, as James takes an unforgettable voyage to Russia on a freighter with 383 pedigreed sheep. Touching our hearts with laughter and wisdom, lifting our spirits with compassion and goodness, James Herriot never fails to delight.
373 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
2765 people are currently reading
8184 people want to read
About the author
James Herriot
269 books3,405 followersJames Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS also known as Alf Wight, an English veterinary surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his semi-autobiographical stories, often referred to collectively as All Creatures Great and Small, a title used in some editions and in film and television adaptations.
In 1939, at the age of 23, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon with Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940, he took a brief job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. The original practice is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot".
Wight intended for years to write a book, but with most of his time consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing ambition went nowhere. Challenged by his wife, in 1966 (at the age of 50), he began writing. In 1969 Wight wrote If Only They Could Talk, the first of the now-famous series based on his life working as a vet and his training in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Owing in part to professional etiquette which at that time frowned on veterinary surgeons and other professionals from advertising their services, he took a pen name, choosing "James Herriot". If Only They Could Talk was published in the United Kingdom in 1970 by Michael Joseph Ltd, but sales were slow until Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York City, received a copy and arranged to have the first two books published as a single volume in the United States. The resulting book, titled All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, spawning numerous sequels, movies, and a successful television adaptation.
In his books, Wight calls the town where he lives and works Darrowby, which he based largely on the towns of Thirsk and Sowerby. He also renamed Donald Sinclair and his brother Brian Sinclair as Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, respectively. Wight's books are only partially autobiographical. Many of the stories are only loosely based on real events or people, and thus can be considered primarily fiction.
The Herriot books are often described as "animal stories" (Wight himself was known to refer to them as his "little cat-and-dog stories"), and given that they are about the life of a country veterinarian, animals certainly play a significant role in most of the stories. Yet animals play a lesser, sometimes even a negligible role in many of Wight's tales: the overall theme of his stories is Yorkshire country life, with its people and their animals primary elements that provide its distinct character. Further, it is Wight's shrewd observations of persons, animals, and their close inter-relationship, which give his writing much of its savour. Wight was just as interested in their owners as he was in his patients, and his writing is, at root, an amiable but keen comment on the human condition. The Yorkshire animals provide the element of pain and drama; the role of their owners is to feel and express joy, sadness, sometimes triumph. The animal characters also prevent Wight's stories from becoming twee or melodramatic — animals, unlike some humans, do not pretend to be ailing, nor have they imaginary complaints and needless fears. Their ill-health is real, not the result of flaws in their character which they avoid mending. In an age of social uncertainties, when there seem to be no remedies for anything, Wight's stories of resolute grappling with mysterious bacterial foes or severe injuries have an almost heroic quality, giving the reader a sense of assurance, even hope. Best of all, James Herriot has an abundant humour about himself and his difficulties. He never feels superior to any living thing, and is ever eager to learn — about animal doctoring, and about his fellow human creature.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesh...
In 1939, at the age of 23, he qualified as a veterinary surgeon with Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940, he took a brief job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. The original practice is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot".
Wight intended for years to write a book, but with most of his time consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing ambition went nowhere. Challenged by his wife, in 1966 (at the age of 50), he began writing. In 1969 Wight wrote If Only They Could Talk, the first of the now-famous series based on his life working as a vet and his training in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Owing in part to professional etiquette which at that time frowned on veterinary surgeons and other professionals from advertising their services, he took a pen name, choosing "James Herriot". If Only They Could Talk was published in the United Kingdom in 1970 by Michael Joseph Ltd, but sales were slow until Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York City, received a copy and arranged to have the first two books published as a single volume in the United States. The resulting book, titled All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, spawning numerous sequels, movies, and a successful television adaptation.
In his books, Wight calls the town where he lives and works Darrowby, which he based largely on the towns of Thirsk and Sowerby. He also renamed Donald Sinclair and his brother Brian Sinclair as Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, respectively. Wight's books are only partially autobiographical. Many of the stories are only loosely based on real events or people, and thus can be considered primarily fiction.
The Herriot books are often described as "animal stories" (Wight himself was known to refer to them as his "little cat-and-dog stories"), and given that they are about the life of a country veterinarian, animals certainly play a significant role in most of the stories. Yet animals play a lesser, sometimes even a negligible role in many of Wight's tales: the overall theme of his stories is Yorkshire country life, with its people and their animals primary elements that provide its distinct character. Further, it is Wight's shrewd observations of persons, animals, and their close inter-relationship, which give his writing much of its savour. Wight was just as interested in their owners as he was in his patients, and his writing is, at root, an amiable but keen comment on the human condition. The Yorkshire animals provide the element of pain and drama; the role of their owners is to feel and express joy, sadness, sometimes triumph. The animal characters also prevent Wight's stories from becoming twee or melodramatic — animals, unlike some humans, do not pretend to be ailing, nor have they imaginary complaints and needless fears. Their ill-health is real, not the result of flaws in their character which they avoid mending. In an age of social uncertainties, when there seem to be no remedies for anything, Wight's stories of resolute grappling with mysterious bacterial foes or severe injuries have an almost heroic quality, giving the reader a sense of assurance, even hope. Best of all, James Herriot has an abundant humour about himself and his difficulties. He never feels superior to any living thing, and is ever eager to learn — about animal doctoring, and about his fellow human creature.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesh...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,029 reviews
June 14, 2020
The Lord God Made Them All is the seventh book in the All Creatures Great And Small series and what a fabulous series it has been. Throughout this series, we the reader are taken on a fantastic journey with veterinarian surgeon James Herriot. Some of the journey will have you laughing out loud and for some of the journey you will be reaching for the tissues.
Sadly, I now only have one book to read for this series (Every Living Thing) and that will complete the series, so I’ll be holding off on reading that one for quite a while, but then again I might read it sooner than I think. If like me, you like animals or like reading animal stories, then please read this series I promise you won’t regret it. Highly recommended.
Sadly, I now only have one book to read for this series (Every Living Thing) and that will complete the series, so I’ll be holding off on reading that one for quite a while, but then again I might read it sooner than I think. If like me, you like animals or like reading animal stories, then please read this series I promise you won’t regret it. Highly recommended.
January 4, 2021
Yes, I do know that for some readers, James Herriot's later memoirs are seemingly not quite as enjoyable as his earlier stories, but that has really never been the case with and for me, as I for one have ALWAYS found both his earlier and his later veterinarian tales (his remembrances) equally readable and entertaining, equally delightful and often tenderly and emotionally poignant (but with also a critical and satirical eye towards both humanity and our domestic animals, our pets, with the author, with James Herriot also not ever sparing himself and his nearest and dearest with regard to humour and occasional criticisms).
And for me, personally, I have to say that the most delighful and sweetly entertaining episodes of The Lord God Made Them All (aside from of course the multitude of animal veterinarian care amd treatment stories both funny and sad, with both positive, successful and sometimes negative, sad and tragic outcomes) have been James Herriot's journal-like entries describing his voyages as a supervisory veterinarian to Russia and then later to Istanbul, and with especially the descriptions of his voyage by ship to Klaipeda, Russia, always having been one of my absolute favourite All Creatures Great and Small series sequences (and James Herriot's escapades travelling to Turkey, to Istanbul, on a clearly not all that air-worthy anymore cargo plane and almost getting stranded there, while perhaps not quite as engaging and as hunourously entertaining in description and depiction as the trip to Russia, these still do rank amongst my personal favourites, simply because the episodes so evocatively show how even in the 1960s, air travel was still a relatively novel and often difficult mode of transportation and thus not in any way as easy, as comfortable and yes as safe as it is now, and for both passenger and cargo services). Highly recommended, and although it has definitely always bothered me somewhat that the author obviously and with a rather heavy hand talked his daughter Rosemary out of becoming a veterinarian (unlike son Jimmy), I do indeed much appreciate that James Herriot (or rather of course Alfred Wight) is contrite and regretful with regard to this, that he takes personal responsibility for his behaviour and his actions and is candidly self critical about having basically in many ways bullied Rosie into giving up trying to beccome an animal doctor (so she became a people doctor instead).
And for me, personally, I have to say that the most delighful and sweetly entertaining episodes of The Lord God Made Them All (aside from of course the multitude of animal veterinarian care amd treatment stories both funny and sad, with both positive, successful and sometimes negative, sad and tragic outcomes) have been James Herriot's journal-like entries describing his voyages as a supervisory veterinarian to Russia and then later to Istanbul, and with especially the descriptions of his voyage by ship to Klaipeda, Russia, always having been one of my absolute favourite All Creatures Great and Small series sequences (and James Herriot's escapades travelling to Turkey, to Istanbul, on a clearly not all that air-worthy anymore cargo plane and almost getting stranded there, while perhaps not quite as engaging and as hunourously entertaining in description and depiction as the trip to Russia, these still do rank amongst my personal favourites, simply because the episodes so evocatively show how even in the 1960s, air travel was still a relatively novel and often difficult mode of transportation and thus not in any way as easy, as comfortable and yes as safe as it is now, and for both passenger and cargo services). Highly recommended, and although it has definitely always bothered me somewhat that the author obviously and with a rather heavy hand talked his daughter Rosemary out of becoming a veterinarian (unlike son Jimmy), I do indeed much appreciate that James Herriot (or rather of course Alfred Wight) is contrite and regretful with regard to this, that he takes personal responsibility for his behaviour and his actions and is candidly self critical about having basically in many ways bullied Rosie into giving up trying to beccome an animal doctor (so she became a people doctor instead).
December 28, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was intrigued right from the beginning, loved the story and the incredible characters.
I was intrigued right from the beginning, loved the story and the incredible characters.
September 25, 2023
Another lovely and wonderful book by Herriot! He never, ever disappoints with his stories and I thoroughly enjoy reading his works.☺️
With the war over, James Herriot is settling back into life in Darrowby with his wife Helen and their two children, Siegfried his partner, and Tristan, who unfortunately wasn't mentioned as much as before but when he was, he was his old self. 😂 Friends both young and old, animal and human brought a smile to my face, laughter in my heart, and tears to my eyes as they sought for friendship and medical attention from good ol' veterinarian James. It was a treat to read this book and I won't bore you with all the same words and thoughts I have for Herriot's writing style because it'll always be the same: I love and enjoy his literary talent. 😁👌🏼
Happy Reading! ✨
With the war over, James Herriot is settling back into life in Darrowby with his wife Helen and their two children, Siegfried his partner, and Tristan, who unfortunately wasn't mentioned as much as before but when he was, he was his old self. 😂 Friends both young and old, animal and human brought a smile to my face, laughter in my heart, and tears to my eyes as they sought for friendship and medical attention from good ol' veterinarian James. It was a treat to read this book and I won't bore you with all the same words and thoughts I have for Herriot's writing style because it'll always be the same: I love and enjoy his literary talent. 😁👌🏼
Happy Reading! ✨
September 30, 2018
I simply love James Herriots’ heartwarming books.
When my children were small, we read and re-read the children’s version of the Herriot books, a beautifully-illustrated Treasury, which I highly recommend. We all loved the stories, our son especially. Herriot’s descriptions of Yorkshire are so wonderful that he made us want to visit. So a few years ago, on our trip to England, we spent a few nights in Thirsk (known as “Darrowby” in his books) and we visited the Herriot Museum (“The World of James Herriot”). The museum is the actual surgery where the stories take place. We stayed at a cozy little B&B in Thirsk. The owners grew up knowing James Herriott, who lived down the street with his family. They're friends with the Herriott children (not children anymore) and went to school together. We took this picture of the church where James Herriot and his wife got married. It’s just down the street from the Herriot Museum.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“I only half realised at the time how lucky I was. I had a demanding, round-the-clock job, and yet I had the company of my children at the same time. So many men work so hard to keep the home going that they lose touch with the families who are at the heart of it, but it never happened to me. Both Jimmy and Rosie, until they went to school, spent most of their time with me round the farms.”
“Parents are never sure that they have done the right thing. They can only do what they think is right.”
“’Maybe ye don’t know it, Mr. Herriot, but this is the best time of your life.’ ‘Do you think so?’ ‘Aye, there’s no doubt about it. When your children are young and growin’ up around ye—that’s when it’s best. It’s the same for everybody, only a lot o’ folk don’t know it and a lot find out when it’s too late. It doesn’t last long, you know.’”
“There are great days ahead!”
When my children were small, we read and re-read the children’s version of the Herriot books, a beautifully-illustrated Treasury, which I highly recommend. We all loved the stories, our son especially. Herriot’s descriptions of Yorkshire are so wonderful that he made us want to visit. So a few years ago, on our trip to England, we spent a few nights in Thirsk (known as “Darrowby” in his books) and we visited the Herriot Museum (“The World of James Herriot”). The museum is the actual surgery where the stories take place. We stayed at a cozy little B&B in Thirsk. The owners grew up knowing James Herriott, who lived down the street with his family. They're friends with the Herriott children (not children anymore) and went to school together. We took this picture of the church where James Herriot and his wife got married. It’s just down the street from the Herriot Museum.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“I only half realised at the time how lucky I was. I had a demanding, round-the-clock job, and yet I had the company of my children at the same time. So many men work so hard to keep the home going that they lose touch with the families who are at the heart of it, but it never happened to me. Both Jimmy and Rosie, until they went to school, spent most of their time with me round the farms.”
“Parents are never sure that they have done the right thing. They can only do what they think is right.”
“’Maybe ye don’t know it, Mr. Herriot, but this is the best time of your life.’ ‘Do you think so?’ ‘Aye, there’s no doubt about it. When your children are young and growin’ up around ye—that’s when it’s best. It’s the same for everybody, only a lot o’ folk don’t know it and a lot find out when it’s too late. It doesn’t last long, you know.’”
“There are great days ahead!”
April 23, 2017
James Herriot is one of the few authors that I will read repeatedly. I mean I will pick up a copy of one of his books that I have read before and read it again as I know those same stories will again make me laugh and cry and feel positive about the human race. I love animals, the real gift here is making me love people too. My James Herriot books are precious to me.
November 1, 2019
I have to admit that this is my least favorite Herriot book of the four I have read this month.
Oh, it had its moments of glory, such as the piano recital scene, Jimmy getting his farmer boots, the case of Fred the junk-yard man's cat, Brandy the garbage-diving Labrador, and a few others.
But I just couldn't get too interested in Herriot's trips to Russia and Istanbul as caretaker for animals being sent overseas. I couldn't keep my focus in those chapters. At least the trip to Istanbul was related in consecutive chapters. The one to Russia was scattered between the usual stories of the Yorkshire Dales farm country and I was surprised every time it showed up.
As a matter of fact, the whole book seemed to be tossed together, rather than thought out and well connected. I feel almost rude to say that, because there were some grand stories, but overall I simply did not enjoy this one as much as the previous three.
This book ends with the sense of a true final chapter, and I know from other reading that this was the last planned book, but that later Herriot did write one more. I am about to start that one now, the final lap of my Herriot marathon.
Oh, it had its moments of glory, such as the piano recital scene, Jimmy getting his farmer boots, the case of Fred the junk-yard man's cat, Brandy the garbage-diving Labrador, and a few others.
But I just couldn't get too interested in Herriot's trips to Russia and Istanbul as caretaker for animals being sent overseas. I couldn't keep my focus in those chapters. At least the trip to Istanbul was related in consecutive chapters. The one to Russia was scattered between the usual stories of the Yorkshire Dales farm country and I was surprised every time it showed up.
As a matter of fact, the whole book seemed to be tossed together, rather than thought out and well connected. I feel almost rude to say that, because there were some grand stories, but overall I simply did not enjoy this one as much as the previous three.
This book ends with the sense of a true final chapter, and I know from other reading that this was the last planned book, but that later Herriot did write one more. I am about to start that one now, the final lap of my Herriot marathon.
March 19, 2024
The Lord God Made Them All is the fourth volume (of 5) in the All Creatures Great and Small Series by Jim Herriot. I love his storytelling, and while this wasn’t as good as the first two volumes, I still absolutely enjoyed the heart warming stories and experiencing life in the English Dales with Herriot.
May 4, 2011
Herriot never disappoints. If I had to choose one of his books that is the weakest, it would be this one. The stories and characters are not quite as memorable as in his other books, and there are some rather off-topic chapters (more about that in a bit). But even if it is the weakest of the five, it is still a touching, engaging, funny, and perceptive book.
It picks up right where All Things Wise and Wonderful left off, with Herriot coming home from the RAF. It chronicles life post-war, and the picking up of dropped threads. It jumps a bit, and several years seem to vanish without a trace. Suddenly, Siegfried and Tristan are both married and moved out of Skeldale House. As with his other books, the chronology bounces around, but that never really bothered me (except that I'd love to hear more about how/when/to whom Siegfried and Tristan got married).
This book chronicles his children, Jim and Rosie, as young children, and includes a story about a neglected boy and his dog that made me want to move to the country and adopt a bunch of kids and give each of them a rescued puppy. Herriot's gifted that way.
The chapters I felt were off-topic were where he intersperses entries from his diaries from his trips to Russia and Istanbul. They were very clearly more lightly edited and less polished than the rest of his work. They also didn't seem terribly germane. They were not intriguing or well-written enough to help me overcome my feeling of "Yeah, yeah, but can we get back to Darrowby already?" That being said, even these chapters are awful, or bad, or anything. They just made me read fast to get back to what I felt was the meat of the book: his life as a vet in Yorkshire.
It picks up right where All Things Wise and Wonderful left off, with Herriot coming home from the RAF. It chronicles life post-war, and the picking up of dropped threads. It jumps a bit, and several years seem to vanish without a trace. Suddenly, Siegfried and Tristan are both married and moved out of Skeldale House. As with his other books, the chronology bounces around, but that never really bothered me (except that I'd love to hear more about how/when/to whom Siegfried and Tristan got married).
This book chronicles his children, Jim and Rosie, as young children, and includes a story about a neglected boy and his dog that made me want to move to the country and adopt a bunch of kids and give each of them a rescued puppy. Herriot's gifted that way.
The chapters I felt were off-topic were where he intersperses entries from his diaries from his trips to Russia and Istanbul. They were very clearly more lightly edited and less polished than the rest of his work. They also didn't seem terribly germane. They were not intriguing or well-written enough to help me overcome my feeling of "Yeah, yeah, but can we get back to Darrowby already?" That being said, even these chapters are awful, or bad, or anything. They just made me read fast to get back to what I felt was the meat of the book: his life as a vet in Yorkshire.
July 14, 2014
I don't know the secret that makes these stories so beguiling, but I dearly loved them.
September 13, 2024
My husband and I have read all the James Herriot books together and finished up with this one today. (I know it was out of the proper sequence.) It was sad to turn the last page on such endearing collections of stories. Maybe we'll wait a few years and start them all over again.
May 14, 2025
This might be my least favorite of Herriot's books, yet I still enjoyed it a good deal!
There's plenty to like. Lots of retread of the usual heartwarming animal-and-owner stories. These contain the Herriot homespun narrative style readers have come to know and love. He may not have been the most elegant of wordsmiths, but the man knew how to spin ripping yarns about saving the lives of pigs, goats, cows, cats and dogs.
However, so-so anecdotal sketches about Herriot's trips abroad, traveling on ships and planes in the care of transported herds, fill out the chapters between the good stuff. These don't usually pack the plot punch of the farm stories he's famous for. They tend to be little more than light reminiscences, like narrated photo albums of family vacations.
Still, this is a good read for anyone who's read the previous books and is hankering for more.
There's plenty to like. Lots of retread of the usual heartwarming animal-and-owner stories. These contain the Herriot homespun narrative style readers have come to know and love. He may not have been the most elegant of wordsmiths, but the man knew how to spin ripping yarns about saving the lives of pigs, goats, cows, cats and dogs.
However, so-so anecdotal sketches about Herriot's trips abroad, traveling on ships and planes in the care of transported herds, fill out the chapters between the good stuff. These don't usually pack the plot punch of the farm stories he's famous for. They tend to be little more than light reminiscences, like narrated photo albums of family vacations.
Still, this is a good read for anyone who's read the previous books and is hankering for more.
September 14, 2021
Another great book in this series. I love these books and I love the original series and the latest series. Really enjoy these books and I can read them again and again.
October 5, 2022
The Lord God Made Them All is the fourth volume in James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small series. This is my second time reading the series and I’m enjoying the books as much this second time around. The books are as much about Yorkshire and the lives of the people who lived there before and after World War II as they are about animals. Herriot has a wonderful sense of humor and loves to poke fun at himself. He marvels about the changes taking place in veterinary medicine. In this volume, his children are growing up and often accompany him on his calls. I thought it was interesting that his son also became a veterinarian. He also takes 2 trips working as a veterinarian. On the first journey, he accompanies a herd of prize sheep that are going to Russia via ship. Thinking this would be a pleasant journey, he encounters terrible weather and many sick animals and almost gets arrested in Russia. On his second journey, he accompanies cattle bound for Istanbul on a cargo plane. Once again, everything possible goes wrong with the plane malfunctioning and unable to take him home.
Only 1 more book to go – Every Living Thing – but I’ve never seen the series and will have that to look forward to.
Only 1 more book to go – Every Living Thing – but I’ve never seen the series and will have that to look forward to.
October 8, 2016
I was supposed to have devoted my day to Bill Bryson's At Home today, since I've got about 450 pages to get through between now and when my book group meets on Monday, but Christoper Timothy reading James Herriot is just too addicting. Herriot's hundredth birthday was this week, so I had to mark the occasion by indulging in this volume. No regerts! ;-)
March 9, 2018
A lovely memoir by a Scottish veterinary doctor living in Yorkshire.
September 7, 2021
I love this easy and funny tales of the country vet. They comforting in the best way: you know you are going to learn something and laugh your head off! I was outside watering the garden and cracking up so hard I was crying with the story of a bull. And of course, Tristan was in that tale! James Herriot seems like an old friend this time reading this installment. Very enjoyable.
March 28, 2009
I read the entire James Herriot series as a teenager, and loved them all. I would recommend them for anyone who loves animals and animal stories.
July 23, 2022
4,5 stars - English Ebook
Review follows later
Review follows later
December 4, 2025
The Lord God Made Them All (#7) by James Herriot (1981 1st edition, hardcover), 373 pages.
Another really good read by James Herriot. These stories are set after World War II. He has returned home and picks up his Veterinary practice as before. He now has two young children, a boy and a girl who love to attend with him to the various farms. His son later in life does, in fact, turn out to be a Veterinarian himself.
In 1961 and 1963, Herriot takes on two different spontaneous jobs, one on a ship and one by a dilapidated cargo plane, transporting cows and sheep to Germany and to Istanbul. His buddy glamorized those two jobs to make them sound like an adventure of a lifetime but turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. He wove these interesting stories in-between his veterinary stories.
Now, onto the last book in the series: “Every Living Thing”.
THE COMPLETE SERIES
* All Creatures Great and Small (#1-2) (1972) (incorporating If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet)
* All Things Bright and Beautiful (#3-4) (1974) (incorporating Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vet in Harness)
* All Things Wise and Wonderful (#5-6) (1977) (incorporating Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin)
* The Lord God Made Them All (#7) (1981)
* Every Living Thing (#8) (1992)
Another really good read by James Herriot. These stories are set after World War II. He has returned home and picks up his Veterinary practice as before. He now has two young children, a boy and a girl who love to attend with him to the various farms. His son later in life does, in fact, turn out to be a Veterinarian himself.
In 1961 and 1963, Herriot takes on two different spontaneous jobs, one on a ship and one by a dilapidated cargo plane, transporting cows and sheep to Germany and to Istanbul. His buddy glamorized those two jobs to make them sound like an adventure of a lifetime but turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. He wove these interesting stories in-between his veterinary stories.
Now, onto the last book in the series: “Every Living Thing”.
THE COMPLETE SERIES
* All Creatures Great and Small (#1-2) (1972) (incorporating If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet)
* All Things Bright and Beautiful (#3-4) (1974) (incorporating Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vet in Harness)
* All Things Wise and Wonderful (#5-6) (1977) (incorporating Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin)
* The Lord God Made Them All (#7) (1981)
* Every Living Thing (#8) (1992)
September 14, 2022
I sure love listening to these audio books by James Herriot. The narrator (Christopher Timothy) is just awesome - he not only has a great accent for Mr. Herriot, but he does great accents for all the other characters. The animal vignettes are interspersed with Herriot's adventure to Istanbul in the 60s, accompanying a shipment of Jersey cows from England.
I do need to comment that these audiobooks are not really suitable for children, unless they are young farmers and stockmen or budding vets. The animal terms and conditions are raw and unfiltered, sometimes painfully so, and there is a lot of swearing, drinking, and smoking. So if you want something for children, several of Herriot's books have been edited specifically for children, and would be much more appropriate for the younger set.
I do need to comment that these audiobooks are not really suitable for children, unless they are young farmers and stockmen or budding vets. The animal terms and conditions are raw and unfiltered, sometimes painfully so, and there is a lot of swearing, drinking, and smoking. So if you want something for children, several of Herriot's books have been edited specifically for children, and would be much more appropriate for the younger set.
October 4, 2022
A lighthearted, charming accounting of an English country vet’s experiences after WWII. He often mocks his own decisions, mentions his insecurities and questions his treatment choices, thus endearing the reader to his humble, meek manner. I appreciated how he always seemed to view his fellow humans (owners of his patients) with objective positivity, even when such humans have annoyed him or caused him harm or inconvenience. He truly aims to see the good and humanity in everyone, especially when the object makes that challenging.
I would not call this a “quick” or “compelling” read, but it was charming to pick up and read a chapter now and then. The chapters are “self contained” stories and made it easy to pick up and put down in multiple intervals.
I would not call this a “quick” or “compelling” read, but it was charming to pick up and read a chapter now and then. The chapters are “self contained” stories and made it easy to pick up and put down in multiple intervals.
June 9, 2024
I'm anticipating that this series will be a faithful comfort read in the future 🥰 this was my first read through
December 29, 2020
Another Lovely Herriot book. Similar to the other ones I have read, which is a-ok in my book! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Perfect short stand alone chapters for when you only have a bit of time to read. Nice to read at bedtime as well. Very soothing other than the sometimes gross animal care descriptions lol.
Perfect short stand alone chapters for when you only have a bit of time to read. Nice to read at bedtime as well. Very soothing other than the sometimes gross animal care descriptions lol.
August 26, 2024
Oh gosh. I need to go rewatch the old TV show now. I loved all of these books (this one had a couple scenes that I skipped though, concerning Artificial Insemination and a joke some of the RAF soldiers pulled. Just not my thing.) Overall though I do wish there were even more of these books. They are a treasure and written SO WELL.
August 30, 2019
Fives hoove up.
Wow! This book is wellwortten. I love the characters and dialogue.It is interesting to earn about all the advance made in veternary Highly r care over the years. Highly recommended.
Wow! This book is wellwortten. I love the characters and dialogue.It is interesting to earn about all the advance made in veternary Highly r care over the years. Highly recommended.
July 18, 2022
Ļoti, ļoti sirsnīgi, brīnišķīgi brīži ģimenes lokā ar bērniem. Brīžiem Heriots par lauku dzīvi pat uzbur tik romantisku ainu, ka gribētos atkal uz laukiem, bet tad padomāju un nē, tik jauki man tur tomēr nelikās.
November 27, 2023
Another funny, witty and heart warming read.
The perfect book when you just need to 'switch off' and loose yourself in a story.
Love how each chapter is a new story, so you can dip in and out.
(some uses of bad language)
The perfect book when you just need to 'switch off' and loose yourself in a story.
Love how each chapter is a new story, so you can dip in and out.
(some uses of bad language)
January 27, 2022
I have deep love and appreciation for all the Herriot books. You can’t go wrong.
May 16, 2022
I just love all his funny, interesting and sweet stories!
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