The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father

If you have loved the stories of James Herriot you will love this book. It is written by his son, Jim Wight. As I learned, Herriot was a pen name. Mr. Wight writes with almost the same beautiful style that his father used. It's a very easy, enjoyable read.

This book was absolutely delightful. James Herriots son did an incredible job. It was so much fun reading about the "real" characters in the Herriot books. James Wight did his father proud with this book. I will definitely read it again. So special. A real gift.

My biggest complaint is that the book left me with little to no insight about the MAN. It was a mere recitation of facts relating to him. I was hoping to learn far more of the personality of "James Herriot", not just "Then he did this. Next he did that". I wanted to know WHO he was. Sadly, this book just doesn't do it.

And, I got really tired of the extremely terse writing style. In places, I found time was warped. The author would start with a story, then go on to something else. He would then re-start the same story with more details. Like Mrs. Pumphry's pig, he was going in "fits and Starts". The book need far more editing.

The book is so amazingly detailed. Anyone who appreciated the books written by James Herriot will appreciate his son's incredible writing ability to help us understand in greater depth his father's intricate and loving personality for man and beast. Glad he took the challenge to write the book, A Memoir of My Father.

This was SO fascinating.and could hardly put the book done. Of course it made it more interesting to me because I did have the pleasre of meeting Alk Wight in his office in Thirsk and the book brought back so many wonderful memories I have of that day.

The book arrived in a timely manner in excellent condition. I am enjoying reading about the life of this gifted, gentle and compassionate man and his family and the descriptions of the countryside and the people of Yorkshire/Glasgow and that area. A good read to help me appreciate and aim for a slower, gentler pace of life.

for this lovely book as a memoir to your father. I very much enjoyed the pictures as well and appreciate your hard work in bringing out the real characteristics of your father. Great job. Thanks so much.

To all James Herriot fans. Even though ultimately this turned out to be a good book my recommendation is to not read it. I had a hard time with the first fifteen chapters and was put off by Jim Wight's referrals to his parents by their first names. I think the book would have been a lot warmer and enjoyable if instead of calling his father "Alf" he would have said "my Dad." Had it not been for the last 10 chapters I would probably have given the book at rating of 2. I thought the writing and the subject matter was much better than the first chapters.

I am a hard core Herriot fan. I've read every book too many times to count. I know most of the stories by heart and have seen all 84 episodes of the TV show as well as both movies. My wife and I are going to England next June and Thirsk (Darrowby) is high on our list of "must see" places. In spite of my love of all things Herriot I wish I hadn't read this book. Like a child finding out there is no Santa this book reveals more than I wanted to know.

great read-provides depth and insight into an amiable,sensitive and complex man. Good to know that it is true, that the people and places existed and have been preserved .An honest and loving tribute.

For anyone who really liked the series "All Creatures Great and Small" this book gives you a good insight to the real James Herriot. I purchased the book for my daughter who was thinking about becoming a vet at the time and a fan of the series. As it turned out, she had to wait until I finished the book before I passed it onto her.

A lovely behinds the scenes look at the real James Harriot. So many hours were spent curled up in a chair reading about the Yorshire dales and those characters and critters who lived there (remember Mrs. Pumphry's Tricky Woo?). Now a look at at Alf Wight (James Harriot), where he grew up, how he came to be a vet and the family he loved. Thank you so much....so miss him and love one more chance to escape into his world! Thank you for a lovely book!

After reading all the superbly written Herriot books, I did not expect his son to get even close to his father's narration talent, but I was proven wrong.
This is not a stories book, it is a biography, but it is very well written, and provides all we wanted to know about the real person who gave us such wonderful times reading his lovely stories.