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Appointments at the Ends of the World: Memoirs of a Wildlife Veterinarian
William B. Karesh is a globetrotting vet who makes house calls in exotic places. The founding director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Field Veterinary Program, Karesh shares some of his fascinating, and dangerous, encounters in the wild.
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 16, 2023
Mar 14, 11am ~~ Review asap.
Mar 15, 815pm ~~ This is the final book of my Veterinarian Authors Other Than James Herriot list. I slashed it from 15 to 7 because I found I was not as enchanted by the books as I had been when I first found them. The risks of reading books by veterinarians is that they are all basically the same, and I couldn't keep myself from thinking 'Oh, that same thing happened to Doctor So and So in his book'. So I decided enough was enough, and finished off my little personal challenge with Doctor Karesh.
I did not have the problem of thinking these adventures were anything like Doctor So-and-So's! Here we go from Zaire to Bolivia to Cameroon to Peru and beyond. Doctor K writes about his years working with the Wildlife Conservation Society. This group had study projects all over the world, trying to learn about the private lives of many different types of animals from okapis to peccaries. And Dr. K traveled the world to help with collecting blood samples, treating injured or ill animals, and generally helping to contribute to the knowledge and therefore the protection of many different species.
Certainly not your average book by a veterinarian author! But also not as compelling as I had expected. The author was very accustomed to travel in exotic locations, to the way things work in other parts of the world, and he seemed to enjoy himself, even when he was wet and muddy and getting nibbled to death by bugs. But for some reason I could never quite connect with him as a person. (Probably my fault, a lot is going on around these parts right now, and that makes it hard to concentrate.)
I liked the sidebar sections Dr. K added, especially the Bolivian origin story about peccaries. I wasn't as interested in the last couple of chapters, the ones that talked about macaws and orangutans, but I enjoyed the book as a whole and it was a nice way to conclude this challenge.
Mar 15, 815pm ~~ This is the final book of my Veterinarian Authors Other Than James Herriot list. I slashed it from 15 to 7 because I found I was not as enchanted by the books as I had been when I first found them. The risks of reading books by veterinarians is that they are all basically the same, and I couldn't keep myself from thinking 'Oh, that same thing happened to Doctor So and So in his book'. So I decided enough was enough, and finished off my little personal challenge with Doctor Karesh.
I did not have the problem of thinking these adventures were anything like Doctor So-and-So's! Here we go from Zaire to Bolivia to Cameroon to Peru and beyond. Doctor K writes about his years working with the Wildlife Conservation Society. This group had study projects all over the world, trying to learn about the private lives of many different types of animals from okapis to peccaries. And Dr. K traveled the world to help with collecting blood samples, treating injured or ill animals, and generally helping to contribute to the knowledge and therefore the protection of many different species.
Certainly not your average book by a veterinarian author! But also not as compelling as I had expected. The author was very accustomed to travel in exotic locations, to the way things work in other parts of the world, and he seemed to enjoy himself, even when he was wet and muddy and getting nibbled to death by bugs. But for some reason I could never quite connect with him as a person. (Probably my fault, a lot is going on around these parts right now, and that makes it hard to concentrate.)
I liked the sidebar sections Dr. K added, especially the Bolivian origin story about peccaries. I wasn't as interested in the last couple of chapters, the ones that talked about macaws and orangutans, but I enjoyed the book as a whole and it was a nice way to conclude this challenge.
September 17, 2010
I was a bit unsure about this book as I started out, unsure about the views of the author, though I was definitely looking forward to some armchair travel.
I really came to appreciate it all as I read more. William B. Karesh is a wildlife veterinarian working for the Wildlife Conservation Society (out of the Bronx Zoo in New York) and in this book, he shares his adventures traveling around the world, leading and assisting with projects needing his expertise.
This book is perfect for someone who is thinking about going into this field, to see what real experiences are like. Dr. Karesh is matter-of-fact in the book. He doesn't sugarcoat things and he really tells it like it is. It was refreshing to read. It was also eye-opening, and made me realize that this is not something I could practically do, at least not the way I'm used to living life at this point. Not that I'm at a stage of life that I'd be considering going back to school for a bunch of years to do something completely different than what I do now (nothing remotely animal related, alas). I also never wanted to be a human doctor so I doubt I'd ever want to be an animal doctor.
All that aside, I ended up really enjoying this book. And yes, I did read most of it from my armchair. :)
I really came to appreciate it all as I read more. William B. Karesh is a wildlife veterinarian working for the Wildlife Conservation Society (out of the Bronx Zoo in New York) and in this book, he shares his adventures traveling around the world, leading and assisting with projects needing his expertise.
This book is perfect for someone who is thinking about going into this field, to see what real experiences are like. Dr. Karesh is matter-of-fact in the book. He doesn't sugarcoat things and he really tells it like it is. It was refreshing to read. It was also eye-opening, and made me realize that this is not something I could practically do, at least not the way I'm used to living life at this point. Not that I'm at a stage of life that I'd be considering going back to school for a bunch of years to do something completely different than what I do now (nothing remotely animal related, alas). I also never wanted to be a human doctor so I doubt I'd ever want to be an animal doctor.
All that aside, I ended up really enjoying this book. And yes, I did read most of it from my armchair. :)
March 11, 2012
I listened to Appointment at the Ends of the World on tape. For those looking for information about a life in exotic animal care, you will not be disappointed. Mr. Karesh delivers many interesting tales of his adventure around the globe; including everything from charging buffalo to hungry big cats. The writing was sometimes a bit technical, and plodding. Occasionally it wandered away from the narrative, but it still did good service to those interested to veterinarian medicine.
March 21, 2012
One of my all time favorites!
March 11, 2018
A bit dry. The author was forced to endure and relate mountains of international red tape sprinkled with fascinating bits of wildlife science.
January 5, 2020
Well-written insight into the realities of wildlife conservation and all of the human interactions that come with it.
May 4, 2023
The book was interesting enough but not as exciting as the subject material. It was literally just ok
January 6, 2013
Interesting. The veterinarian has an interesting job, and it was nice to read about. I definitely would not want his job. I did find his writing sort of mundane, and I try to understand that he is a veterinarian and not a writer. I did learn a lot and I liked it. I think people who really have an interest in wildlife conservation or veterinary medicine may find this book interesting. Others probably not.
April 20, 2008
The book is interesting in content. Anyone who is curious about veterinary medicine, especially with exotics would appreciate this book. The writing is ok at best however making reading it ponderous at times.
May 14, 2007
Poor writing skills. Excellent narratives. Unless you dig travel or love animals, pass.
October 3, 2008
Amazing, sometimes perilous, adventures in wild places.
January 14, 2008
damned this book! i'd be a happy marine biologist or 9-5er if it weren't for it.
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September 27, 2018Episode 50:
3. Hoping to get this question answered before my cruise in mid-October:
I read pretty voraciously, across lots of genres. I particularly love and collect veterinary memoirs. My favorites are the James Herriot books (English vet); While You’re Here Doc by Bradford Brown (Maine vet); The Rhino with the Glue-On Shoes by Lucy Spelman (zoo vet); and Tales from the Tail End by Emma Milne (James Herriot meets Bridget Jones). I’ve read some others as well (Horse Vet by Courtney Diehl, which was kind of sad actually), but it’s hard to know where to go next. Can you recommend some good vet memoirs or similar books for me? I prefer a balance between the funny and sad (i.e., not too much sadness!), and I’m not a huge fan of self-published books. Also, I know a lot of the titles in this genre are terrible puns (and there’s some some really terrible covers), but I don’t let that stop me from reading it, as the content is usually great!
–Haley
3. Hoping to get this question answered before my cruise in mid-October:
I read pretty voraciously, across lots of genres. I particularly love and collect veterinary memoirs. My favorites are the James Herriot books (English vet); While You’re Here Doc by Bradford Brown (Maine vet); The Rhino with the Glue-On Shoes by Lucy Spelman (zoo vet); and Tales from the Tail End by Emma Milne (James Herriot meets Bridget Jones). I’ve read some others as well (Horse Vet by Courtney Diehl, which was kind of sad actually), but it’s hard to know where to go next. Can you recommend some good vet memoirs or similar books for me? I prefer a balance between the funny and sad (i.e., not too much sadness!), and I’m not a huge fan of self-published books. Also, I know a lot of the titles in this genre are terrible puns (and there’s some some really terrible covers), but I don’t let that stop me from reading it, as the content is usually great!
–Haley
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews