All Creatures Great and Small

James 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.

出版者:Pan Books

作者:James Herriot

页数:432

出版时间:1993-2-1

价格:GBP 8.99

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780330250498

图书标签:英文原版英国文学吉米·哈利小说外国文学英文随笔英国

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The classic multimillion copy bestseller

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

James Herriot's memoirs have sold 80 million copies worldwide, and continue to delight and entertain readers of all ages

读后感

我在自己的读书短评里写这个人名翻译的问题以及错字的问题，于是我收到了传说中的责任编辑的来信。 这是我第一次在豆瓣的读书上遇到书的责任编辑，也许他（或她）是真的爱这本书到了神圣不可侵犯的程度，也许是这本书是他一生的挚爱，所以无法容忍别人亵渎。 再伟大的著作都...  

等价的生命 印度民间相传有这样一个神话传说：尸毗王是一个生活上奢侈放纵的国王。有一天，当他正享受着宫女们婀娜的舞姿时，一只白色的鸽子突然从窗外飞进宫殿，瑟瑟发抖地站在国王身边。尸毗王如梦初醒般看着这只弱小的鸽子...  

其实，这是一套书，一共五本、其他四本分别是《大地之爱》、《大地之颂》、《大地之恋》和《大地之声》。 这套书是我很早之前在一次书市上买的。陕西旅游出版社出的。 这套书太好看了。我每次都在心情特别不好的时候看，起码看的时候觉得生活特别美好。  

等价的生命 印度民间相传有这样一个神话传说：尸毗王是一个生活上奢侈放纵的国王。有一天，当他正享受着宫女们婀娜的舞姿时，一只白色的鸽子突然从窗外飞进宫殿，瑟瑟发抖地站在国王身边。尸毗王如梦初醒般看着这只弱小的鸽子...  

这是一本妙趣横生，让人常常捧腹大笑，朴实动人，有时让人为之含泪的书。由一位行医几十年之心和手沉淀自身经历而写就的书。 书中记叙了主人公由五年兽医毕业觅得乡村兽医助手一职而踏上兽医行列之途。一切的一切，就像我们现在的生活一样五味俱全。 毕业求职的...

用户评价

当兽医的都应该看看

一。优美得可以拿去认真研究。二。幽默。三。我边看边想着地球公民和Black books...

真好。含蓄幽默，有大爱。让人想起也是痴爱动物的《My Family and Other Animals》。艰苦的生活和乐观的态度又有点像李娟的调子。当然Herriot是位真正的绅士，他的文自有一种稳重和自得。

我变了

当兽医的都应该看看