I've read many books featuring veterinarians which were hailed on the jacket blurbs as being comparable to James Herriot but they were never quite as good as promised. In David Taylor, I finally found a writer who stands up to the comparison. Taylor was the first veterinarian to specialize in exotic species. He worked for a number of zoos throughout his career. Similar to Herriot, Taylor describes working before anesthetic dart guns and other modern conveniences for veterinary medicine were developed; he often had to think up ingenious ways to work with or treat dangerous animals. The writing is very informative about what goes on behind the scenes in a zoo regarding wildlife heath and treatment. It is thrilling at times with many narrow escapes, very humorous and quite engaging. I enjoyed the book very much.

from the Dog Ear Diary ( )