He was a self-taught musician from Syria who astonished the music world with his innovative technique on the double bass. With his new style, Francois Rabbath could play with ease what should have been impossible. UNL Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies Hans Sturm is the guest on this week’s All About Books where he’ll talk about his biography of Rabbath “75 Years on 4 Strings”

James Rebanks and his family have been farmers in England’s Lake District for generations. In his book “Pastoral Song” he tells how the global transformation of agriculture has impacted the environment and even the human relationship to the land. Learn about how this farmer is trying to restore the life that vanished from his small farm on

Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason joins “All About Books” host Pat Leach this week to introduce his new collection “At the Corner of Fantasy and Main” Disneyland is the touchstone for these poems where midlife and memories come together.

The 3 finalists for this year’s community reading event “One Book- One Lincoln” were announced this week. David Smith, the facilitator for the selection committee, joins Pat Leach to introduce each title and share why it’s a book definitely worth reading with others this summer.

Based on the life of a real woman cast out of the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie de France winds up in England in charge of an impoverished abbey. Lauren Groff’s latest novel, “Matrix” reveals the power of female creativity in a corrupted 12th century.

Suzanne Ohlmann was raised in Seward Nebraska, then traveled far away only to keep returning during her careers in singing and then nursing. As an adopted newborn, she had a shadow she needed to deal with. Hear an interview with Suzanne Ohlmann about this lifelong journey detailed in her book, “Shadow Migration: Mapping a Life.”

Winner of this year’s Pen/Faulkner award for Fiction, author Rabih Alameddine’s latest novel sees a Lebanese doctor arriving at a Syrian refugee camp to help. It's a portrait of ordinary people trapped in horrific circumstances. Hear a review of “The Wrong End of the Telescope”

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.