The library book

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Orlean, Susan

Recorded Books, Inc

Orlean, Susan

Athens Drive Community
Cary Regional
East Regional
Eva H. Perry Regional
Fuquay-Varina Community
Green Road Community
Middle Creek Community
North Regional
Northeast Regional
Oberlin Regional
Southeast Regional
Wake Forest Community

Adult Non-Fiction
Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Large Print Non-Fiction

Athens Drive Community - Adult Non-Fiction
Cary Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Cary Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Cary Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
East Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
East Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
East Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
Eva H. Perry Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Eva H. Perry Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Eva H. Perry Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
Fuquay-Varina Community - Adult Non-Fiction
Fuquay-Varina Community - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Fuquay-Varina Community - Large Print Non-Fiction
Green Road Community - Adult Non-Fiction
Holly Springs Community - Adult Non-Fiction
Middlecreek Community - Large Print Non-Fiction
North Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
North Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
Northeast Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
Oberlin Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Oberlin Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Remote Storage - Adult Non-Fiction
Remote Storage - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Remote Storage - Large Print Non-Fiction
Southeast Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
Southeast Regional - Large Print Non-Fiction
Wake Forest Community - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
Wendell Community - Adult Non-Fiction

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018

"A constant pleasure to read...Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book." —The Washington Post

"CAPTIVATING...DELIGHTFUL." —Christian Science Monitor * "EXQUISITELY WRITTEN, CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINING." —The New York Times * "MESMERIZING...RIVETING." —Booklist (starred review)

A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution—and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries—from the bestselling author hailed as a "national treasure" by The Washington Post.
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, "Once that first stack got going, it was 'Goodbye, Charlie.'" The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 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 mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

In 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 across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present—from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as "The Human Encyclopedia" who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.

Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean's thrilling journey through the stacks that 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. It is also a master journalist's reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.

Audiobook
Book
Large Print
eBook

Audio Books
Books
eBook

8032b3a0-2cf8-4d71-0e16-72374c5854cb

9781432856465
9781476740188
9781476740195
9781476740201
9781508266471

2025-04-25T09:13:35.423Z

-1

Non Fiction

Non Fiction

020 ORLEA
020 ORLEA 10 CDs
LP 027.479 ORLEA

Wake County Public Libraries

Athens Drive Community
Cary Regional
East Regional
Eva H. Perry Regional
Fuquay-Varina Community
Green Road Community
Holly Springs Community
Middle Creek Community
North Regional
Northeast Regional
Oberlin Regional
Southeast Regional
Wake Forest Community
Wendell Community

9781476740188

2018

Simon & Schuster
Simon and Schuster
Thorndike Press

grouped_work

Thorndike Press large print popular and narrative nonfiction

Thorndike Press large print popular and narrative nonfiction|

Audiobooks
History
Large type books
Libraries
Los Angeles Public Library. -- Central Library -- Fire, 1986
Los Angeles Public Library. -- Central Library -- History
Public libraries -- California -- Los Angeles -- History

The library book

The Library Book
The library book / Susan Orlean
The library book / by Susan Orlean
The library book [sound recording] / Susan Orlean

The library book

Fire, 1986
History
Large type books
Libraries
Nonfiction
Public libraries