[All Things Wise and Wonderful] is the third of James Herriot's remembrances of the quiet rural joys of practicing veterinary medicine in Yorkshire. It is cut from the same bolt of nubbly cloth as his previous books…. In "All Things Wise and Wonderful," we find the good animal doctor coping with R.A.F. training at the outset of World War II. Don't worry, Herriot-lovers, this is not a book about the service. Although Herriot is in the R.A.F., his heart is in the lovely York...

What the world needs now, and does every so often, is a warm, G-rated, down-home, unadrenalized prize of a book that sneaks onto the bestseller lists for no apparent reason other than a certain floppy-eared puppy appeal. However, it is only partly because warm puppies—along with cows, horses, pigs, cats and the rest of the animal kingdom—figure as his main characters that James Herriot's [All Creatures Great and Small] qualify admirably….

James Herriot is at it again with that easy, ingratiating way of telling a story. Readers of his best-selling "All Creatures Great and Small" are undoubtedly ready to devour its sequel in one gulp. Which may not be the best way to approach this supplementary collection of reminiscences of the Yorkshire country vet before World War II. It deserves more leisurely treatment, a few chapters at a time. Again Mr. Herriot is evoking those faraway days when even veterinarians made house calls in the m...

Each chapter [of All Things Wise and Wonderful] is a separate vignette which is filled with drama and emotion, particularly the case of a beautiful collie—"mouth gaping, tongue lolling, eyes staring lifelessly"—which Herriot revives. All in all, this is another remarkable and engrossing view of humans and beasts, and YA's will look forward to the next which will surely be titled The Lord God Made Them All. (p. 131) Jane Manthorne, in School Library Journal (re...

James Herriot's account of his veterinary experience in Yorkshire … can give a higher boost to morale than alcohol, drugs, or a visit to the doctor. These books start in World War I and take place in Yorkshire, England, a harsh region of the country which produces hardy folk who endure. Herriot's understated and uncomplaining lot is ameliorated by his sense of humor and steered by his sensitivity. The author's matter-of-fact recounting of hardship, study, and practice displays co...

["All Creatures Great and Small"] shines with love of life. It is not surprising that James Herriot still ministers to his charges in the same location, for the reader soon feels that the man and his work should never be separated from Yorkshire and its people…. Herriot's portrayal of his mercurial and charming boss [Siegfried Farnon] and his boss's fey brother Tristan is delightful. Indeed, every character in the book emerges with force and clarity. There is humor everywh...

All Things Bright and Beautiful continues the story of [James Herriot's] youthful practice in an earthy profession: with growing confidence and strong arms he learns to cope with calves that are strangling in birth and with complications like husk, grass staggers, calcium deficiency, or "wool ball on t'stomach." His courtship of Helen Alderson prevails despite her testy father and Herriot's undiplomatic judging of the Pet Show. The warmth which she brings into his life is ...

Was it not W. C. Fields who claimed that a man could not be all bad if he disliked animals and young children? Allow me a suggestion: even if the reader dislikes animals and pets and children, he will like [All Things Bright and Beautiful]. It brings the world of animals and people into a ring of beauty, precisely because it touches the human often and with skill. The title is a first line from a hymn of Mrs. Cecil Alexander whose second line is the title of James Herriot's first book: All Creatures ...

[All Creatures Great and Small] is full of recalcitrant cows, sinister pigs, neurotic dogs, Yorkshire weather, and pleasantly demented colleagues. It continues to be one of the funniest and most likable books around. (p. 91) Phoebe Adams, in The Atlantic Monthly (copyright © 1974 by The Atlantic Monthly Company, Boston, Mass.; reprinted with permission), August, 1974.