All About Books | Net Radio

In 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. A few years later her younger sister Emily also earned her M.D. Together, the sisters started the first hospital staffed entirely by women. A new biography details these and other accomplishments, “The Doctors Blackwell.” Author Janice Nimura joins host Pat Leach.

Trees are not only beautiful, they help keep our homes cool in the summer and improve air quality. They’re key to fighting the negative effects of climate change. Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation joins Pat Leach this week to talk about the book, “Now Is the Time for Trees: Make an Impact by Planting the Earth’s Most Valuable Resource”

From the unbelievable to the barely digestible, Nebraska author and illustrator James Solheim’s upcoming book is a treat for young readers hungry for something fun. “Eat Your Woolly Mammoths!: Two Million Years of the World's Most Amazing Food Facts, from the Stone Age to the Future” Hear an interview with the author.

B.J. Hollars and his six-year-old son, Henry, struck out on a 2,500-mile road trip retracing the Oregon Trail. They ate at truck stops, camped out in a tent and leaned about the country, our history and each other. B.J. and his son Henry stopped by the studio to tell All About Books host Pat Leach about their adventures and their book, Go West, Young Man”

Something you can readily find in the largest urban cities as well as the smallest rural towns- is loneliness. Writer and illustrator Kristen Radtke looks at the silent epidemic and the friction between people’s inner lives and public selves. It's in her new book, “Seek You”.

Long before cameras were found in every cell phone, if you wanted show your friends what you were up to, you mailed a penny postcard. The post card may be disappearing but two local historians have put together a book featuring Nebraska’s capital city from their large collection old postcards. Ed Zimmer and Jim McKee talk about their new book, “Lincoln” from the Postcard History Series

Thanks to recent advances in research, our understanding of the navigation and physical feats performed by migratory birds has exploded. These amazing far-traveling birds from around the world are showcased in the book, “A World on the Wing: the Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds” by Scott Weidensaul.

Paula is a young artist enrolled at a famous school in Brussels where students learn the painstaking techniques to paint realistically the grain of wood or the look of old marble. This week a review of the novel, “Painting Time” by Maylis de Kerengal. A story of technical painting and a young woman who brings her skills and craft to unique jobs around the world.

A successful writer agrees to help her ex-husband on a road trip to deal with a family secret. “Oh William!:a Novel” by Elizabeth Strout confronts the mystery of people even in our close relationships.

Nebraska author Lisa Tschauner (shawn ur) joins Pat Leach to talk about her novel “Reclamation.” It’s the story of two Nebraska college students who take a gap year to travel overseas only to be caught up in crime abuse and human trafficking.

“The Future We Choose: the Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis.” The book offers two scenarios for the planet’s destination in 30 years. One, should we fail to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate targets, and the other the transformation of the world to have net-zero emissions. Contained is an argument to meet the climate crisis head-on and what needs to happen.

A secretary in 1970’s Mexico City leads a dull life compared to the beautiful art student who lives next door. The novel “Velvet Was the Night” moves into classic noir territory when the neighbor goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Hear a review of the new work by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Annette Gordon-Reed grew up in Texas. In her book “On Juneteenth” she brings together American history, her family chronicle and a historian’s view of the path for the nation that started in Galveston Texas on June 19th, 1865.

This week on “All About Books” a monumental biography of the writer Sylvia Plath that focuses on her literary and intellectual achievements. “Red Comet: the Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath” by Heather Clark

Inspired by her work at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Dr. Alison Pearce Stevens has written a book about the Ashfall Fossil Beds suitable for younger readers. Hear an interview with the author of “Rhinos in Nebraska” a new book of engaging science writing interesting to older readers too.

A novel based on the life of one of the first female African American doctors in the country, “Libertie” by Kaitlyn Greenidge. It’s the story of a young girl born in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn attempting to find a place where she can fully be herself.

17-year old Lilly is a Chinese American girl growing up in San Francisco’s China Town. In the novel “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” 1950’s America during the Red Scare is not a safe place for a Chinese girl like Lily to fall in love with another girl. Hear a review of Malinda Lo’s new novel

Each of the 3 characters is in a different stage of life and each is struggling with loss. “A Town Called Solace” by Mary Lawson is a novel that patiently follows small-town lives.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, it’s the true story of a murder on a South Dakota Indian reservation, and the unforgettable native woman who becomes obsessed with solving it. “Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country” by Sierra Crane Murdoch

It’s a poetic novel of rural, small town life. “Zorrie” by Laird Hunt, is the life story of woman born in Depression-era Indiana and a powerful portrait of longing and community of the American Midwest