Books by James Herriot and William A. Nolen 9/29/2023 4:12:27 PM
All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Wise and Wonderful are for readers who enjoy stories about animals and animal doctoring. I enjoyed both books very much. James Herriot (1916-1995) wrote smooth, unpretentious prose, his storytelling clean and substantive. The Yorkshire veterinarian describes in detail all his cases and all the fascinating people he comes across as he travels from farm to farm and house to house. I always felt as though I was in the action, right alongside him, listening, learning, wondering. Not all the stories have happy endings, mind you, but every one of the chapters made me think about the demands of his veterinary work, about his dedication to medicine, and about the people he helped and the grueling work that the farmers and other laborers did. What hardships they faced. What grit they had. What values and principles they instilled. What knowledge they passed down.
Herriot’s personality, wit, and sense of humor are the reader’s companion along the way. I wish I had heard of his books sooner. Now that I have I am eager to read the rest of the series and more, books that have not only made me laugh, cry, and think, but have once again left me appreciating the many pleasures and kernels of wisdom derived from reading quality work.
Another book that moved me and educated me was The Making of a Surgeon by William A. Nolen (1928-1986). What a storyteller he was, talking about his time spent as a surgical resident at Bellevue Hospital, from his beginnings onward. There is much to think about, much to learn as the doctor’s coworkers and patients seem to take shape on the page. Reading this book will have you roaming the wards with the doctors, listening to diagnoses and, when situations become hectic, feeling as though you’re part of the scene as doctors begin consulting one another, coming up with treatments, attempting to comfort, and heal, the sick. The exposition is made more fascinating to the reader because of Dr. Nolen’s thoughts and memories of each emergency, some more serious than others. Not once did my interest in this narrative wane. Even much of the technical language couldn’t slow me down or distract from the overall point. Nolen’s engaging writing style is neither wordy nor clumsy nor academic. It’s just right. I believe The Making of a Surgeon would appeal to both doctors and laymen. Not only that, it would make a good documentary. Dr. Nolen left for readers one heck of a book. I look forward to reading his other works.
