THE REAL JAMES HERRIOT

James Herriot, author of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL and other books, is probably the world's most famous veterinarian. In real life, the author was Alf Wight, an unassuming country vet in Scotland with a talent for writing. His son, Jim Wight, has written a readable and interesting biography of his father. Readers of ALL CREATURES who don't know much about Alf Wight will enjoy this look behind the pages. They'll discover the real Siegfried Farnon and his brother, Tristan. But to readers who already know a bit about the author, Jim Wight breaks little new ground. The reader is Christopher Timothy, the lead actor in the TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" and the reader of the audio versions of several Herriot works. He does a solid, even engaging job. But he's so clearly identified as James Herriot, it can be a bit disorienting when he says something like "my father," and means James, and not James's father. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]