Leisure Reading
Memoir, Biography/History & Humor
A select list of books for fun from the collection of the U of I Library. Holdings location is
in parenthesis.
- Ashby, Doc "Cal" and Ann F. Ashby. You Be Good Vet, Doc: Venture in Grenada. 1988.
(Oak Street) Call #
636.08092
AS34Y
After twentysome years of veterinary practice in Missouri, Doc Ashby and his family embark
on a year in Grenada for a change of scenery and perspective.
- Foster, Rory C. I Never Met an Animal I Didn't Like. 1987. (Oak Street) Call #
636.0890924
F816D1I
A memoir by a veterinarian who founded a wildlife hospital and rehabilitation center in
Wisconsin.
- Frye, Fredric L. Phyllis, Phallus, Genghis Cohen and Other Creatures I Have Known.
1984. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
636.0890924
F948F1
A book of humorous anecdotes about a veterinarian's practice in Berkeley , CA, in the 1960's
and early 1970's.
- Gage, Loretta and Nancy Gage. If Wishes Were Horses. 1993. (Veterinary Medicine)
Call #
636.089092
G121I
An autobiographical account, a woman's experience of the stresses and joys of vet school at
Colorado State University.
- Herriot, James. James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories. 1996. (Undergraduate)
Call
# 636.7 H435ja
Herriot's endearing anecdotes about his favorite pups: Tricki Woo, Hermann, Jock, and
others.
- Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood. Hoofbeats and Society: Studies of Human-Horse
Interactions. 1985. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
798
L435H
Horse/human relationships from a social scientist's perspective. Includes "The Horse in Crow
Indian Culture, Past and Present," "The White Mustang of the Prairies," "Rodeo Horses: The Wild and
the Tame," "Mounted Police: A Symbolic Study of Urban Horses," and "Horses in Human
Experience."
- Kendall, Grant . The Animals in My Life: Stories of a Country Vet
. 1996. (Undergraduate) Call #
636.089092
K333k
Stories from the life of a vet, some drawn from practice in Kentucky, some from childhood
and college.
- McCormack, John E. Fields and Pastures New: My First Year as a Country Vet.
1995. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
636.089092
M137F
A memoir, the story of a man embarking on his first private veterinary practice in Choctaw
County, Alabama, circa 1963.
- Miller, Robert M. Most of My Patients are Animals. 1985. (Veterinary Medicine) Call
#
636.0890924
M612M1
An autobiographical account by a vet who began his practice in 1950's California, full of
humorous anecdotes and embarrassing moments. RMM is also known for his cartoons.
- O'Dea, Joseph C. Olympic Vet: A Didactic Memoir. 1996. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
636.089092
OD2O
Mr. O'Dea's account of his life as a veterinary practitioner and his work as a veterinary
member of the U.S. Equestrian team from 1955-1975.
- Padwee, S. Howard . The Cat Who Couldn't See in the Dark: Veterinary Mysteries and Advice
on Feline Care and Behavior. 1997. (University High School) Call #
636.8
P136C
A delightful collection of anecdotes by a New York City veterinarian specializing in feline
care.
- Porter, James A. Doctor, Matilda's in Labor! 1986. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
636.0890924
P834P1
An autobiographical account, the life of a rural veterinarian practicing in Kansas in the
1950's.
- Ridgway, Sam H. The Dolphin Doctor: A Pioneering Veterinarian Remembers the
Extra-ordinary Dolphin that Inspired His Career 1987. (Oak Street) Call #
636.9530924
R43R1
A Navy veterinarian's experience working with marine mammals, and more specifically, his
loving relationship with a bottlenosed dolphin.
- Smith, John.
Vet in Africa: Life on the Zambezi, 1913-1933: Selected Letters and Memoirs of John
Smith. 1997. (Main) Call #
636.089092
Sm61v
John Smith's son collected these letters as a way of remembering his father's experience as
veterinarian in Rhodesia, 1913-1932.
- Taylor, David. Is There a Doctor in the Zoo? 1978. (Veterinary Medicine) Call #
636.089
T21i
"We don't know enough about these creatures. We haven't the tools", said the senior partner.
The partner's disinterest in the care of the animals at a nearby zoo was the opportunity for the
author to be actively engaged in zoo animal medicine. Written only 2 years after his first book,
Zoo Vet, this book tells the gradual development of the author from a small town, mixed practice
vet to a jet-setting practitioner of exotic animal medicine. His work takes him to such far-flung
places as Pakistan, Malaysia, the Arabian Gulf, Germany, France, Indonesia, and the U. S.
- Taylor, David. Zoo Vet: Adventures of a Wild Animal Doctor. 1977. (Veterinary
Medicine) Call #
636.089092
T2121
"At times I wondered if I had made the right decision" says the author in this delightful
book of tales from his experience as a veterinarian for exotic animals from armadillos to zebras.
Through many events which took place during the early years of his career, the author expresses the
sadness of seeing animals die due to the lack of adequate medical care as well as the joy of
bringing them back to health with humor, honesty, and deep passion for wild animals.
For additional books, look in
UIUC's
library catalog under these subject headings:
- Veterinarians-anecdotes
- Veterinarians-biography
- Veterinarians-correspondence, reminiscences, etc.
- Veterinarians-fiction
- Veterinarians-juvenile fiction
- Veterinarians-juvenile literature
Back to top
Back to Bibliographies
