On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The …
On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.
“A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.
Part history of a calamitous fire, part true crime investigation, with sprinkles of snapshots into the life of current public library workers and those of the past.
I enjoyed this book, though not really for what it was supposed to be. I feel like the investigation into the cause of the fire fizzled out quickly, a sort of non-story with no satisfying conclusion.
But the snapshots of the lives of previous and current library staff was absolutely delightful. Some real strong characters in the libraries history who really shine in this book.
"The library is a gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever."
This is a weird book to rate, because the book’s blurb indicates it’s about the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986, and while that’s certainly covered, there’s also quite a bit of other stuff in here that may or may not interest the average reader. I, however, loved it all, because it spoke to all the reasons why I work in a library and spent the (considerable) time and money to get a degree in the field. If you want to read about a crazy library fire and also the history of libraries and the many different ways libraries have evolved over the years, you will find the same pleasure in this book that I did.
Interspersed with …
"The library is a gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever."
This is a weird book to rate, because the book’s blurb indicates it’s about the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986, and while that’s certainly covered, there’s also quite a bit of other stuff in here that may or may not interest the average reader. I, however, loved it all, because it spoke to all the reasons why I work in a library and spent the (considerable) time and money to get a degree in the field. If you want to read about a crazy library fire and also the history of libraries and the many different ways libraries have evolved over the years, you will find the same pleasure in this book that I did.
Interspersed with the chapters about the leadup to the fire, the firefighters battling the fire, and the aftermath and the impacts it had on the librarians and the community, you’ll get a profile of a man who was the prime arson suspect, the history of libraries in general and the history of Los Angeles Public Library in specific, and the author’s experiences with visiting the library today. It hops around a ton and covers a lot of ground, but I don’t think any of it ever bored me. I especially liked the discussion around homeless/displaced people in the library, because it’s a tough topic without an easy answer.
If you’re looking for a book strictly about the fire though, this one may not be for you. While the chapters on the fire itself were fascinating, it doesn’t feel like there was enough material there for a full book experience. The topics covered were interesting, but I can see how some of the material may be boring or dry for anyone not already in the library field or interested in how libraries have evolved over the years.
Support your local libraries. Even if you don’t think you need their services, vote locally and ensure they receive the funding they so desperately need to serve the ones who depend on them.
This book is like the apple pie for which, if you want to make it from scratch, you have to invent the entire universe.
Yes, it's about the burning of the Los Angeles central library. But then the author spins off in different directions, telling the history of the public library, the fates of books in times of war, biopics on all the head / city librarians of LA as well as a few select kooky library patrons, the story of Los Angeles itself, of arson and firefighters in LA, and finally of the man who started this blaze going.
It was a little bit of everything, and I loved it.
## Who I'd Recommend It To ##
Anybody with even a modest interest in public libraries, books, history, or human beings.
Why I Picked It Up ##
I like libraries
## What I Liked About It ##
This book is like the apple pie for which, if you want to make it from scratch, you have to invent the entire universe.
Yes, it's about the burning of the Los Angeles central library. But then the author spins off in different directions, telling the history of the public library, the fates of books in times of war, biopics on all the head / city librarians of LA as well as a few select kooky library patrons, the story of Los Angeles itself, of arson and firefighters in LA, and finally of the man who started this blaze going.
It was a little bit of everything, and I loved it.
## Who I'd Recommend It To ##
Anybody with even a modest interest in public libraries, books, history, or human beings.
A love of libraries, centered on the destruction and renewal of the Los Angeles Central Library but history and anthropology and psychology wandering out from there.
Anyone who appreciates the value of a public library should read this boom
This book focuses on the devastating Los Angeles Central Library fire of the late 1980s, the subsequent arson investigation, and its rebuilding and grand re-opening. However, much of the book is also part-memoir, part exploitation of the history of the Los Angeles Public Library System, and a more philosophical exploration about the utility and function of a library as an open, inclusive source of communal knowledge within an open, democratic society. Highly recommended.
I started this book thinking it was mainly going to be about the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986, and got so much more. Yes, it is about the fire and about the main suspect in the suspected arson, but it's also a love letter to libraries and the people who keep them running.
Susan Orlean discovered the LA library—and the story of its fire—when she moved there in the 2010s. For many years, she hadn't been to any library, instead buying all her books and surrounding herself with them (which I can relate to). However, it's when she takes her young son to the library that she remembers how amazing they are as an institution, and how many fond memories she has of going to the library with her own mother. In her search for information on the fire and its aftermath, she digs up the …
I started this book thinking it was mainly going to be about the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986, and got so much more. Yes, it is about the fire and about the main suspect in the suspected arson, but it's also a love letter to libraries and the people who keep them running.
Susan Orlean discovered the LA library—and the story of its fire—when she moved there in the 2010s. For many years, she hadn't been to any library, instead buying all her books and surrounding herself with them (which I can relate to). However, it's when she takes her young son to the library that she remembers how amazing they are as an institution, and how many fond memories she has of going to the library with her own mother. In her search for information on the fire and its aftermath, she digs up the history of the Los Angeles Public Library: how it came to be, who its head librarians have been and what they did for the library, how it's changed in its 100-year history, and the struggles it's faced. Even though it's the story of one library, in many ways it's the story of all libraries. After all, we start with when women weren't even allowed to use the lending library and come all the way to the modern day, when libraries are used for so much more than books, such as providing services like homeless outreach and education opportunities, which I'm sure is paralleled in libraries across the country.
I was initially drawn to this book in part because there was an arson incident at the St. Cloud Library while I lived in the area, and I was curious to see if there were any parallels (spoiler: there weren't, really). Reading about what happened in the LA library during the fire was fascinating and devastating. It's fascinating because of the power of fire and how it spreads, but devastating because of all those books and microfilms and maps and history. Of course, the question in the back of everyone's mind was how the fire started, and it didn't take long for "arson" to be the answer. Alongside the story of rebuilding, Orlean discusses fire investigators' main suspect, a compulsive liar who really doesn't help his own case in any way. At the end of it all, we're left wondering if it was arson at all, or if something else started the fire. I wish it could be wrapped up neatly in a bow, but after so long (and after so much evidence was destroyed in the fire itself), we're still left with questions.
Orlean is a great writer, and the book is very well researched. I very much enjoyed the history of the LA library interspersed with what the library looks like today. There's a little something in this book for everyone who loves libraries.
What a delight this book was! Of course, the library was a major part of my childhood...and adulthood...and writing career. So I was bent toward loving this story, but, man, she does a good job of keeping you engaged in the history of libraries and the on-going mystery of who burned this one down.
Interesting read. So much more than just an investigation of the LA Library fire (of which I'd known nothing before reading this!). I learned a lot about the evolution of libraries and the history of the LA system. I'd think that anyone who likes non-fiction + libraries will enjoy it.
Incredible study of the unsolved 1986 fire at the central branch of the Los Angeles public library but really about the fragility of knowledge and stories and how important holding on to them are despite that inherent fragility. If you love libraries, you CANNOT miss this book.
Sometimes you want to visit a city because of its library. If you are a bibliophile, that is. I haven’t been in Los Angeles yet, but one of the main reasons to visit the city, would be the public library in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Public Central Library is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
The Central Public Library has a long history, stretching back to the 1870s. In 1926, the library moved to its current place, in downtown Los Angeles, in an eccentric and very interesting building created by the proto-modernist architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue.
On the morning of April 29, 1986, the Library caught fire and burned. It was one of the most challenging and destructive fires in the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It turned out to be the largest single library fire in the history of the United States. …
Sometimes you want to visit a city because of its library. If you are a bibliophile, that is. I haven’t been in Los Angeles yet, but one of the main reasons to visit the city, would be the public library in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Public Central Library is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
The Central Public Library has a long history, stretching back to the 1870s. In 1926, the library moved to its current place, in downtown Los Angeles, in an eccentric and very interesting building created by the proto-modernist architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue.
On the morning of April 29, 1986, the Library caught fire and burned. It was one of the most challenging and destructive fires in the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It turned out to be the largest single library fire in the history of the United States. The loss was devastating. 400,000 books, a big part of the periodicals collection, historic maps, art prints, photographs and microforms were left destroyed—either burned in the fire, or soaked by the water used to extinguish the blaze. And the remaining books, about 700,000, were damaged by water or smoke, and threatened by rot.
In The Library Book, Susan Orlean writes about the Los Angeles Central Library and its history and particularly about the 1986 devastating fire. The book is also a tribune to libraries everywhere, why a library is a vital institution, and what libraries mean to her and to our communities.
The libraries came to my life when I moved from the small village I was born, to Athens, Greece. In the village, back then, having books at homes was not normal, but somehow I developed a passion for books. I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I remember. When I moved to Athens, the Public National Library became a second home. My visits were never long enough for me. It was a magical place, a place that welcomed everyone.
There is a quality in libraries. And it is this quality that Susan Orlean brings to this book. The library is a remarkable repository, not just of books, but also stories. She started spending time with the city librarians-some of them are truly fascinating figures- who had run the library over the years and found herself drawn into this amazing place. She decided to write about the library and the fire that almost destroyed it when one of librarians who was giving her a tour, pulled one of the books of the shelf and took a deep whiff of the book, saying “You can still smell the smoke.” It was then that she learned about the big fire of 1986 that closed the library for seven years.
The narrative in The Library Book is not a traditional one. Basically, it is a book with two stories. The first is a huge and meticulous research about the fire itself. It has been widely accepted that it was an arson but Susan Orlean suggests that, most probably, it was the result of a tragic accident. The second story is a fascinating history of Los Angeles Central Library. It is about the librarians, the patrons, the present life and the future of the library, about the importance of libraries. If you are a book lover, if you are a libraries lover or if you just want to read a compelling story, you would love this book.
