An internationally famous wildlife veterinarian chronicles his experiences and adventures caring for wild animals in virtually every corner of the world and discusses his fierce dedication to the cause of wildlife conservation. 40,000 first printing. Ever since his childhood days of rescuing, raising, and releasing orphaned blue jays and raccoons, William B. Karesh knew that working with wild animals was his calling. After training as a veterinarian and working for years with zoo animals, he developed the International Field Veterinary Program (IFVP) for the Wildlife Conservation Society, providing advice and assistance to conservation programs worldwide. His adventures battling bureaucrats, poachers, and other short-sighted humans while endangered animals lay sick and dying are recounted in Appointment at the Ends of the World . The book is an exciting, inspiring read that appeals to animal lovers, environmentalists, and devotees of amazing stories alike. From Borneo to Zaire, Karesh has shuttled through much of the world to bring much-needed medicines and surgical techniques to populations of animals that can't afford to lose even one to disease or injury. Plenty of illustrations and color plates bring the rhinos, peccaries, and macaws helped by the good doctor vividly to life, and the maps and sidebars help the reader achieve a sense of place missing from so many world-spanning books. Appointment at the Ends of the World is as certain to enrage as it is to delight; more than this, though, it kindles the desire to reach out and help those in need. --Rob Lightner Employed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, formerly known as the New York Zoological Society, Karesh travels around the world assisting foreign governments and conservation organizations with wildlife issues. His days and nights for weeks and months on end are filled with glamour and danger. As he succinctly states at the beginning, "My patients are only one occupational hazard: venomous snakes, deadly tropical diseases like Ebola, and unpredictable humans (including heavily armed soldiers and guerrilla rebels) pose equal threats." Whether he is working in Zaire, Borneo, Bolivia, Cameroon, or Peru, dealing with wealthy, high-profile personalities or the world's poorest people, Karesh is a passionate conservationist, committed and dedicated. He deeply believes that every individual can make a difference if he or she chooses. Essential summer reading.AEdell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. We've read books about country veterinarians; city, holistic, and behavioral veterinarians. Now Karesh's memoirs take us into the realm of a wildlife veterinarian, to animal medicine practiced in the field. Karesh works for the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), where he heads the Field Veterinary Program. He provides the medical expertise needed by biologists and wildlife managers working in the wild all over the world. Reports of research conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Bolivia, Cameroon, Peru, and Borneo are combined with the author's personal anecdotes of his contribution to the field studies. Stories of corrupt customs agents in Zaire, boating to remote field sites in Bolivia, and waking in the middle of the night to feed macaw chicks are interspersed with explanations of the scientific side of the research. Boxed asides range from a "Packing list for Zaire" to "Hummingbirds," adding local culture and scientific fact to the narrative. Overall, this is an excellent look at an unusual aspect of veterinary work that will be a very popular read. Nancy Bent The life of a globetrotting animal doctor, ungussied and enthusiastic. This is not so much a memoir as a diary of five missions Karesh undertook in aid of rare wildlife. A veterinarian for the Wildlife Conservation Society, Karesh often finds himself in the remotest patches, there to work with indigenous people and the local political structure to determine the overall health of a wildlife population, train biologists, and do research on and minister to the animals. While Karesh obviously loves his work, in principal and in practice, it fast becomes clear that its an arduous, risky, and uncomfortable business. Not just because he sleeps most nights on damp ground in strange places with dangerous animals, but because of the humans, the most violently unpredictable of creatures, bureaucratic martinets and teenagers waving AK-47sfar worse than jumped rhinos. Karesh tells his story in an unadorned voice, as much an educator as a veterinarian. He wants readers to get a full picture of the places he goes, and to that end he doesn't confine himself to conservation matters alone, but saturates the pages with topical sidebars that have an impact on his work. These include the spread of HIV in Africa and the constant low level of terror that comes from simply living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; satellite tracking of el