'I grew up reading James Herriot's book & I'm delighted that thirty years on they are still every bit as charming heartwarming & laugh-out-loud funny as they were then' Kate Humble Fresh out of Veterinary College & shoulder-deep in an uncooperative cow James Herriot's first job is not panning out exactly as expected To a Glaswegian like James 1930s Yorkshire appears to offer an idyllic pocket of rural life in a rapidly changing world But even life in the sleepy village of Darrowby has its challenges On the one hand there are his new colleagues Siegfried & Tristan Farnon two brothers who attract a constant stream of local girls to whom James is strangely invisible On the other he must contend with herds of semi-feral cattle gruff farmers with incomprehensible accents & an overweight Pekingese called Tricki Woo Heartbreaking & hilarious in equal measure If Only They Could Talk is a book for all those who find laughter & joy in animals & who know & understand the magic & beauty of Britain's wild places