The Lord God Made Them All

Herriot could really write short stories. Really well structured, always with a point and a pay-off, great to listen to on audio on a road-trip, and hilarious in the double entendres I can only presume he didn't realise he was writing. We found this to read, it being the only secular book (unwittingly?) in a Mennonite Airbnb in southern Indiana!

These four books were the first I read from the adult section of the tiny town library I grew up with. Still remember them fondly - still don't want to be involved in animal husbandry or to have a pet. That universality of appeal is a large part of their genius.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, almost as much as the first one in the series and a lot more than the second and third ones. I particularly liked the story of Herriot's voyage to Lithuania (even in the 1960s, the city of Klaipeda was in Lithuania, rather than Russia -- Herriot seems to be referring to the entire USSR as Russia, just as Russians refer to the whole of the UK as England), as well as the account of the brief trip to Turkey. I was born in the USSR myself in the 1980s, so it was very interesting to hear what a British person who got to spend a couple of days in the Soviet Union in the 1960s thought of it.

I’m sorry to say that I’ve come to the end of the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. I read the books as I found them in used bookstores so out of order. But this book, THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL, really is the final book in the series.

Each of the books in this series consists of lovely stories written in first person by a Scottish veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. The time spans from the beginning of his career in the 1930s to this last book in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the stories are fiction, Herriot based them on his own experiences. So, they are largely books about animals, but they are really a series about a country vet.

These books have been around since the 1970s, but they are just as touching now.

Large chunks missing.

I listened to the abridged audiobook of this novel and felt it was a bit bland. Having finished it and taken a look at other people's reviews, I find that large chunks of it have been removed in the abridgment. There is no mention of trips to Russia with a cargo of sheep, nor any reference to his growing children, both of which would have been interesting.

What I did get was a lot of stories about his life back in veterinary practice in the Dales and the antidotes of the farming characters and local villagers who lived there.

This version was ably read by Christopher Timothy, but it barely evoked the wonderful programmes I used to watch on TV many moons ago. three and a half stars for an entertaining listen while show more driving but I doubt it will get a replay - next time I'll find a copy of the unabridged version. show less

This is another of English veterinarian James Herriot’s books about his practice during the mid-20th-century in rural England, mostly working with farm animals. Amidst the usual anecdotes about various critters, he did a couple of long trips (one on a ship to Russia), tending to the animals aboard during the trips.

I listened to the audio, so there was a bit too much that I missed to be able to rate it higher. Most of what I heard was enjoyable. There were tidbits included about his family and kids, as well.

I remember my dad giving me these books for a birthday or xmas fairly early on, and I've loved them and returned to them ever since. Just re-listened to the excellent audio book version. _- love the accents, the humor, the wonderful setting, and the compassion to animals. Great storytelling.