Since James Herriot first began his practice almost a century ago, new technologies and the changing concerns of animal owners have dramatically altered the veterinarian's world. Through a kaleidoscope of contrasting portraits, Lee Gutkind introduces an equally impassioned lot of doctors and their sometimes eccentric patients. Animal lovers will love this journey from tony, expensive Manhattan practices to mucky farms, from cutting-edge animal hospitals to zoos and aquatic parks.

12 essays describe the anger and frustration patients and families often feel towards the health care system.

The successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 created both hope and hype with regard to advancements in medical therapies. The delineation of precise genetic information suggested the possibility of predicting an individual's future health as well as the theoretical ability to intervene and fix it. Nearly a decade later, Gutkind and Kennedy (writers who are well versed in exploring both the technical and personal sides of science and medicine) chronicle the growing pains of personalized medicine, a genomic-driven, individualized type of preventive health care with uniquely targeted treatments. Interviews with researchers, patients, physicians, and others in the genomic business lead the authors to conclude that although personalized medicine has plenty of power and promise, it has a long way to go before becoming the standard of medical care. Sequencing your own genome is already quite accessible and getting cheaper all the time. Managing and making sense of vast amounts of genetic data remain daunting." (Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.).--