Top 15 Books About Veterinarians Updated 04 /2024

Because I work in the veterinary field, I get to work with veterinarians from all over the world and help pre-veterinary and veterinary students learn from them. They also spend a lot of time reading scientific literature about their field. There are also some great novels about animals and caring for them that are worth reading, though!

This is a list of some of the best books we've found for the veterinarian or animal-lover in your life.

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy

A lot of what this book says isn't true, but it's still a good book to read.

This book is a best-seller that talks about how we think about animals and their emotions, and how we think we see those emotions. Anyone who likes animals and wants to think about how we treat them and how we understand them might like this book.

Unlikely Companions: Adventures of an Exotic Animal Doctor by Laurie Hess

This book tells the stories of the exotic animals that Dr. Hess treats and how she balances her work and family life. A lot of people don't have the chance to work with exotic animals up close, which makes this book fun and interesting to read about.

Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-Extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things by M.R. O’Connor

This book is for people who love science and conservation, as well as people who want to think about where the natural world is going. Scientists are taking very risky steps to try to save species that are close to extinction. M. R. O'Connor, a journalist, talks about how these actions affect the animals in the wild.

It takes us through time, from Neanderthal tools to DNA banks, to look at philosophical questions about how we can live together with other species on the planet. This is a thought-provoking book that asks a lot of big, broad questions and makes people want to talk about them.

Lucky Dog: How Being a Veterinarian Saved My Life by Sarah Boston

Some people don't know that the veterinary field has specializations, just like human medicine does, but they do.

When Dr. Boston finds a lump in her neck, she goes to the human medical world and compares her experience as a veterinarian to what she's seen as a veterinarian.

Unsaid by Neil Abramson

Sad: People who love animals will be able to relate to this book and be moved by it, but it's not for everyone. One veterinarian and many animals that have been important in her life tell their story in this book. It's an interesting way to look at the world.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about how powerful animals can be in our daily lives.

Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon by Nick Trout

There are a lot of books, both traditional and self-published, that tell the stories of veterinarians in their own words.

You can use this to show how busy and different the days can be at a veterinarian's office. People who aren't sure if the veterinary field is for them should check out this book.

Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence–and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene Pepperberg

Second-person account of working with animals: this time, of working with a single animal. Because of his smarts and what he can teach us about how much animals can know, learn, communicate, and understand. Alex the African Grey Parrot is very well-known for this.

You might enjoy this book if you like animals. It's been a New York Times bestseller for a long time.

All Dogs to Kevin: Everything Three Dogs Taught Me (That I Didn’t Learn in Veterinary School) by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang

An autobiographical story about a veterinarian is great because it gives people a sense of what it's like to be a veterinarian in a way that everyone can understand.

It's a good book for veterinarians and people who love them because it's not too sweet or cheesy.

Born Free by Joy Adamson

Born Free, which was written in 1960, tells the story of a lion cub who moves from being in a cage to living in the wild.

Beautifully written and heartfelt, it raises questions about how we can move between different worlds and how wildlife will fare in a world that is becoming more and more crowded.

As a book, this one will be a hit with animal lovers and people who care about conservation and development. The photos in this book are amazing.

In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall

For any veterinarian or animal lover who wants to learn more about Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees, they should read her book about it.

When you read a book by her, you will learn a lot about chimps and how they act and interact with each other. People who want to learn more about her can read this book, even if they have no previous knowledge of biology or animal research. It shows her travels, work, and wildlife research, and it's readable for anyone who wants to learn more.

Death at Seaworld by David Kirby

A lot of David Kirby's books are hard to read, and this one is no exception. It tells the story of the dark side of a business that you might not want to see. However, it's an eye-opening story and one that people who care about animal welfare might find interesting.

The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes, And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients edited by Lucy H. Spelman

This book is a collection of stories about animals with unusual and interesting illnesses and the vets who treat them. It also tells about the vets who help them.

In "The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes," true stories about wild animals are told in an engaging, fast-paced, and interesting way. They show how we connect with and understand animals.

This is a good book for people who work at zoos, people who like science, or people who love animals.

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

"H is for Hawk," which won the Samuel Johnson Prize and was a finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Award for Nonfiction, is a moving and beautiful piece of nonfiction. It also won a lot of other awards.

Mabel is a goshawk who was adopted and raised by the author. He connects Mabel's difficult emotional journey to his own. In this moving story, lovers of both literature and nature will find something to connect with.

---