All About Books | Net Radio

If forests, mountains and oceans are extroverted environments that demand our attention- the prairie has a more quiet voice. Photographer, author and the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Science in Nebraska, Chris Helzer, has written, “Hidden Prairie: Photographing Life in One Square Meter.” It explores the diversity and activity of plants and animals on just a small patch of the prairie.

To their neighbors in Colorado Springs, the Galvins seemed to be a large, happy, baby boom family. Over the years 6 of the 12 children would be diagnosed with schizophrenia. How this could have happened this happened is the subject of the new book “Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” by Robert Kolker.

It may be the first of its kind: a coffee-table book of Nebraska photographs designed, written, published and even printed entirely in Nebraska. Amateur photographer and self-published author, Matt Steinhousen joins host Pat Leach to talk about his book, "The Least Interesting Place."

Beginning in 1960’s Laos, “Run Me to Earth” by Paul Yoon is a novel spanning decades. It tells the story of 3 orphans who risk their lives collecting medical supplies across a nightmare landscape of unexploded bombs.

He’s been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, named U.S. Poet Laureate twice, and now Nebraska poet Ted Kooser has a tribute from his colleagues and students in a new book. “More in Time” from the University of Nebraska Press is a celebration of Ted Kooser as teacher, mentor and friend. All About Books host Pat Leach is joined by one of the book’s editors, Timothy Schaffert.

Humans have traditions and cultures, but is it possible that animals do too? A new book explores the animal world from a fresh perspective. On this week’s “All About Books” a review of “Becoming Wild” by Carl Safina. A revelatory look at how animals function beyond our typical assumptions.

This novel presents a Montana woman who seems to have much going for her. But throughout her life she struggles to define herself while others seek to possess her in relationships that often contain violence. “The Lives of Edie Pritchard” by Larry Watson

Scientist are coming to understand that birds have intelligence for activities we previously considered uniquely human. Behaviors like deception, manipulation, as well as collaboration and play. This week’s All About Books presents, "The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think” by Jennifer Ackerman.

The University of Nebraska Press has just published South Dakota writer, Steven Wingate’s new novel, “The Leave-Takers.” On this week’s “All About Books”, host Pat Leach talks with Wingate about the book and his patient style of writing.

Anotonia Vega is a professor of English and an immigrant, she confronts the loss of her husband in the novel, “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez. The story follows Vega as she continues to seek inspiration from literature to guide her though new challenges.

A technology expert who enjoys a dependably quiet routine is upended by a suddenly homeless girlfriend and a teenage boy claiming to be his son. It's all in, "Redhead by the Side of the Road: a Novel" by Anne Tyler.

A mixed-race woman born into slavery on a Jamaican plantation ends up in London at the center of a murder case. “The Confessions of Frannie Langton” by Sara Collins is a mystery written with careful attention to the history of the novel's setting..

“Minor Feelings” is a collection of essays described as honest, funny, and provocative. A look at poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong's cultural observations involving everything from racial identity to art and family.

In the summer of 1959, three young performers come together for a variety show in sea side town of Brighton England. “All About Books” reviews the short novel “Here We Are” by Graham Swift, which delves into the love, family and memory of all the characters.

Two women of the Paris Avant Garde art world were living on the British Channel Island of Jersey when the Nazis invaded. A new book tells how these artists resisted the occupation and imprisonment in their own unique way. “Paper Bullets” by Jeffrey Jackson

In the early 1990’s, an average Indiana family had their identities stolen, crippling the couple and their young daughter’s life. That young girl became a professor and expert on identity theft, eventually discovering the culprit. "All About Books" reviews this true-crime story, “The Less You Know About Us” by Axton Betz-Hamilton.