The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father

James Herriot/Alf Wight, is a man and author to be remembered and embraced. The biographer, his son, Jim Wight, has written a sensative, amusing, and compelling look of his father's life and amusing rememberances as a veterinary surgeon and family man, and the ability to balance his fame as a best selling author. Mr. Wight's story brings laughter, and eventually tears at the passing of his father James Herriot/Alf Wight and beloved characters from his books, i.e. Tristan/Brian Sinclair and Sigfried/Donald Sinclair. If you loved "All Creatures Great and Small" and the sequels as much as I did, you will enjoy this book. Another author I like is Spencer Quinn.

I haven't finished it yet but it's very well written and very interesting and I'm only in the second chapter.

It is clear from this book that Jim Wight, like his famous father, doesn't like to say negative things about anybody, but this is a thoroughly honest book that includes information available nowhere else, and it is quite detailed. It makes the hoped-for identifications of what real individuals paralleled characters and how they reacted to their portrayals (Tristan loved his portrayal and Siegfried was so unhappy he actually threatened to sue!), and is honest about the embellishments in stories as well. It doesn't shy away from describing very bad times in the personal life of Herriot.The bottom line is that any fan of James Herriot will truly enjoy reading this book, gain real insight about the man, and enjoy going back and reading the story books with the knowledge gained from this biography.

This is a most enjoyable book allowing a glimpse into the life of one of my favorite authors. It was interesting to learn about the situations that molded the life of James Herriot (Alf Wight).

-James Herriot was a country animal doctor who recanted his life into stories, which became All Creatures Great and Small and other books and audios. His son, Jim Wight, upon his father's death, composed a tribute to a man we all thought we knew in The Real James Herriot. The abridged audio version is narrated by TV's James Herriot, actor Christopher Timothy. His familiar tramping of the characters and Herriot's words makes him the perfect choice to read this veneration.

Jim Wight has a warm and endearing style, revealing a fuller picture of this kind and gentle man, his father. The content is fascinating, taking the reader, again, to the beauty of the Yorkshire dales and moors, bringing tears of laughter and episodes of touching reality of simpler times that so many of us long for. Through this book, Wight shares with the reader many more events in his father's most interesting life. We come to know James Herriot more intimately, even after his death. The narrative is a beautiful tribute to a deep love of a son for a father. While reading "The Real James Herriot...", ever present was the memory of my unexpected chance meeting with him while walking along the path in front of his home a few years ago. This book reveals the gracious, polite and feeling man we were introduced to all those years ago in "All Creatures Great and Small".

For those of us who grew up watching ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL on PBS and who delighted in James Herriot's books, this biography of Alf Wight, the real name of the writer James Herriot, is fascinating, heart-warming, and wonderful.What makes this book so good is that the author is Jim Wight, Alf's son and later partner in his vet practice. Jim describes Alf's life with real insight and shares his own opinions when discussing key characters in Alf's books. Jim talks about Donald and Brian, the real people behind Siegfried and Tristan, and the various farmers and family members with definite love; he knew them and worked with them, too.This book is not just a collection of facts; it is a real tribute to the life of the man known to most of us as James Herriot. Jim's insights into his father and his life are extremely interesting, and the gentleness of his father's writings has surely filtered down to his son. Certainly, Jim writes critically, but he also writes with affection and understanding.I cannot think of a more fitting memoir for Alf Wight. His vision of the world is unique, and his son's tribute to him, both a biography and a personal memoir, could not be better. Through Jim's book, we can see just how true Alf's descriptions are - and how lucky we are to have them.I definitely recommend this book to all fans of James Herriot.