Ten Foot Cops: the World's Mounted Police, by Nigel Allsopp could have been an amazing book. It is a global history of mounted forces. It discusses when they were established (some have been disbanded and brought back, others are as new as 1995) and how the officers and mounts (some are camels) are selected and trained. Some are part of the police force, others are volunteers, or supported by donations, grants and so on. The author did a wonderful job of talking with members of these teams from around the world, you will learn a lot! However, it suffered from a lack of that final 'polish' ... you know, the last time through a manuscript when you clean it all up. There are incomplete sentences and thoughts, and 'spell check' should have been checked by a human as there are several uses of 'pray' instead of 'prey.' There are great photos, but most of them needed a caption. It kept me reading, the concept was spot on, but the delivery could have used some work. Just so you know ... I did read it all the way through, after all. :-)

The Horse and Buggy Doctor, by Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D. was originally published in 1938! Med school certainly has changed! ;-) Author said it wasn't really an autobiography, but there is a lot about his life included, such as a horrible childhood. It was the 'spare the rod, spoil the child' era, so parents, teachers, and clergy all beat children. There is humor too, though, he was thrashed (and the book burned) for reading an early book about anatomy which (gasp) mentioned that there were TWO sexes ... something that as a farm kid, he'd already figured out! It was a much slower process, too, since it could sometimes take several hours (and sometimes a change of horses) to get to the patient. Folks pretty much didn't call unless it was serious, though. This was an interesting read as it talks about the folks the good doctor went to see, those who came to his office (when he had one) and the hospital he set up. The forward was written by Milburn Stone, who played 'Doc' on the old TV show, Gunsmoke! Warning here, this was at times a tough read as animals were shot ... for food, for practice, and to ward of attacking dogs from a farm the doctor was visiting. Times were different, for sure! It's a dense read, too, and I sometimes took a break for something lighter in-between chapters, but you will get into the rhythm of the writing, pick out the funny bites and so on. All in all, an interesting read of a bygone era.

Reading Hermit With Dog