Author:Lucy H Spelman,Ted Y Mashima
Meet Mohan, a rhino with painfully sore feet.
And Patch, a falcon with a broken wishbone.
And Kachina, a bear cub with brittle bones.
Not to mention Alfredito, a hippo suffering from a sever bout of toothache.
All these animals owe their lives to the dedicated zoo and wild animal vets who employ boundless ingenuity and expertise to care for them and who, in this beguiling book, tell the stories of their most memorable cases. They describe not only the meticulous detective work that goes into making a diagnosis but also the pioneering techniques they have developed. And they talk freely and movingly about the bonds they form with their exotic patients..
Whether it's one doctor's determined effort to save a critically ill lemur, the neurosurgeon who was persuaded to operate on a paralysed kangaroo, or the vet who refused to give up on an orphaned baby beluga whale, these are acts of rescue, kindness and co-operation that will warm every animal lover's heart.
An intriguing, sensitively written book that really shows the relationships that can develop between humans and wild animals
—— Terry Nutkinsall the time the lilting, dancing voice is alight with wonder and — let’s call a spade a spade — love.
—— Simon Barnes , The Timeshis seen-it-all air is like aural comfort food, and the asides are as good as ever.
—— Elisabeth Mahoney , The GuardianIn After the Ice, Alun Anderson, former editor of New Scientist, has made a heroic effort to understand the science of the region. Parts of his wise book will interest only the thriving new species of Arctic wonks - but Anderson does address what should be the world's great concern.
—— Simon Kuper , Financial TimesThe inside story of how nations will soon be vying for control over the defrosting Arctic.
—— The TimesA clear and chilling account of the science of the Arctic and a gripping glimpse of how the future may turn out there
—— The EconomistConcise, literate, truthful and often moving... as well-written and sensitive an account, by a decent, cultivated and highly intelligent person, of the glories and miseries of the practice as are likely ever to read
—— Literary ReviewThis is a compassionate, front-line report from what can often seem like alien territory.
—— Daily Telegraph Summer ReadsThe practice of medicine is a way of living: vivid and engrossing, it stimulates senses physical and metaphysical...It is a rare skill for a doctor to be able to communicate this rich sensorium in writing. It is a delight to read the words of one who does it so well
—— The EconomistA superb account of life on the grisly front line of the operating theatre
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesThis slender, elegantly written memoir by a female surgeon, Gabriel Weston, is a fascinating, no holds barred account of life in the operating theatre
—— IndependentThrough this insightful book, Weston succeeds superbly in communicating the fascinating brutal reality of a surgeon's life
—— Ian Critchley , Daily TelegraphGabriel Weston's story succeeds better than any I have known...more riveting and thought-provoking than any fiction
—— The Lady, Susan HillGlinting like a tray of instruments, her prose is satisfyingly precise
—— Victoria Segal , The GuardianA curiously thrilling read, written with an elegance heightened by its clarity and economy
—— Elizabeth Day , ObserverA valuable and unflinching account, since it so clearly tells the truth
—— Christopher Hart , The Sunday TimesThis book is mesmerising
—— William Leith , ScotsmanHer description of the struggle to remain individual and hence moral is her real achievement. This, to me, is what female writing has to do, and she does it with style and humour and beauty
—— Rachel CuskRichard Dawkin's new book... gives the fact-rejecters their just deserts
—— Daily TelegraphThe book is full of evidence, some familiar and some new. Its case is presented in a manner succinct, clear and sometimes vivid
—— Daily TelegraphNo other book currently available approaches Dawkin's comprehensive yet accessible treatment of the extraordinarily diverse and massive body of data that drives ineluctably to the same conclusion
—— National Center for Science EducationThe Greatest Show on Earth is a lucid, thorough and often exciting survey of evolution and takes in rats' teeth, dogs, bacteria, the so-called missing link, crustaceans, giraffe anatomy, hummingbirds, chimpanzees, enzymes - you name it. It is informed in nearly every paragraph by Mr. Dawkins's irrepressible enthusiasm
—— Sarah Lyall , New York TimesThe Greatest Show on Earth... is essential reading. I would currently rate it... as the best overall book on the evidence for Evolution
—— Marc E. Miquel , SCOPEThis is a magnificent book of wonderstanding: Richard Dawkins combines an artist's wonder at the virtuosity of nature with a scientist's understanding of how it comes to be
—— Matt Ridley, author of "Nature via Nurture"