The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father » (1 AMER ED)

Jim Wight, born in 1943, followed in his father's footsteps at the Glasgow Veterinary College, which by then was part of the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1966. In 1967 he joined the practice of Sinclair and Wight in Thirsk, working alongside his father and Donald Sinclair (aka Siegfried Famon) for the next twenty years, when Alf Wight retired. He is still a member of the practice.

Jim Wight and his wife, Gill, have a son and two daughters. They live in a village below Sutton Bank near Thirsk.

No one is better poised to write the biography of James Herriot than the son who worked alongside him in the Yorkshire veterinary practice when Herriot became an internationally bestselling author. Now, in this warm and poignant biography, Jim Wight ventures beyond his father's life as a veterinarian to reveal the man behind the stories—the private individual who refused to allow fame and wealth to interfere with his practice or his family. With access to all of his father's papers, correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs—and intimate recollections of the farmers, locals, and friends who populate the James Herriot books—only Jim Wight could write this definitive biography of the man who was not only his father but his best friend.

Library Journal

Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot (a pseudonym for Alf Wight) is well known to young and old alike, thanks in part to his best-selling books, including All Creatures Great and Small. Herriot's tales of the endearing patients and country folk he encountered during his practice were even made into a highly popular television series. Fans will enjoy Wight's biographical tribute to his father, based on his life with Herriot as a loving father, best friend, and veterinary colleague as well as on his father's papers and correspondence. Wight was also able to draw heavily on the recollections of family and friends, who willingly shared memories and photographs. Strongly recommended for public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/99.]--Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\