The Life of a Country Vet

By: Graham Lord

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Alf Wight, a modest Scottish writer, better known as James Herriot, wrote books that became worldwide best sellers, films, audiobooks, and a much-loved television show. In The Life of a Country Vet, Graham Lord has written a detailed and affectionate biography of this remarkable man. Lord carefully documents Wight's life, beginning with his childhood in Glasgow and his years in veterinary college. Following his development as a writer, the source of his pen name, and his struggles to get published. Along the way, we encounter some extraordinary events and hidden tragedies in this seemingly magical life.

Millions of fans laughed and cried at Wight's delightful stories of life as a vet. Lord reveals that some of the stories were utterly true, and some were utterly fictional. He illuminates the real relationships between the memorable characters that inhabit the books. This warm yet insightful portrait by Lord - who knew his subject very well - will be enjoyed by Wight's myriad of fans. It also dispels the myths that have grown around the life of one of the most famous and deeply loved vets the world has known.

©1997 by Graham Lord (P)1997 by Audio Renaissance Tapes, A Division of CPU, Inc.

The Real James Herriot

I liked finding out about the real vet and his real relationships with those he worked with.

Fact and Fiction

Fact and fiction are woven together in this engaging biography of Alf Wight AKA James Harriet the veterinarian. The author describes the stories and characters we are so familiar with in books , television, and films and then provides the factual realities. The narrator uses genuine sounding accents to quote the many sources used to get the information for this biography. The author describes Alf Wights's entire life from beginning to end with excellent pacing and fascinating accompanying stories, including answers to many questions we might have about Wight.

I highly recommend this book as it is both informative and entertaining. It describes Alf Wight's life with the love and cherishing we all feel for this most famous veterinarian in the world.

Very interesting and well done

With one exception, I have only compliments for the writing and performance of this biography of such a good, interesting and talented man, Alf Wight ( James Herriot).
My complaint is that this version is abridged. I know there is an unabridged version and I urge Audible to please obtain it. It would be much better and much appreciated.

He is the reason I became a Veterinarian I am now

He is the reason is became a veterinarian . I'm 66 years old and proud to be a vet.

Good story about a beloved man

I, like millions of others, am a huge James Herriot fan. I’ve read The Real James Herriot, written by his son Jim Wight. I would consider his story more accurate, as he had a front row seat. This is a good biography, though a few facts are wrong. This author notes that in Wight’s 2nd year of vet school, his grades and even class attendance plummeted, and attributes it to “laziness”, which is at odds with everything about his previous performance. The real truth is that he had a flare up of an anal fistula, a painful and unfortunate medical condition from which he suffered his entire life, enduring numerous unsuccessful surgeries to repair it.
It is sad to read how fame and success proved to be an intrusive burden, robbing Wight of the rest and privacy he so badly desired and deserved.
All in all, this is a fair and balanced story, and will delight fans who loved James Herriot and his life in the Yorkshire Dales.

Alot of detail but not a 'pleasant' book

This bio of Alf Wight a/k/a James Herriot tends to founder in detail, dates, times and even to the minutia of Wight's college records. Of the three hours listening time, perhaps 45 minutes were enjoyable. If you are looking for another uplifting tale like the Herriot books, look elsewhere. All of us knew that Herriot was somewhat fictionalized but seeing his partner in an unflattering light and hearing that his wife was not the character portrayed in the books seems a little too damning for a man that even Graham Lord admits was a gentle, kind, soul.