The Library Book by Susan Orleans
Summary
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.
Book Settings: Los Angeles, CA
Santa Fe Springs: The town Harry Peak grew up in.
Central Library: The main library discussed in this book. A fire occurred here in 1986 which resulted in the damage or destruction of over one million books.
Bertram Woods Library: Susan Orlean’s library that she went to growing up.
Studio City Branch Library: The library Susan Orelan was closest to when she first moved to L.A.
French Quarter Market Place: Harry stated that he went to lunch here with Father Archie Clark Smith and Homer Morgan Wilke.
Robinson Public Library: The first library John Szabo worked at.
Palm Harbor Library: The second library John Szabo worked at.
Washington Irving Branch Library: One of the libraries Szabo and Susan visited.
Little Tokyo Branch Library: One of the libraries Szabo and Susan visited.
Hollywood Regional Branch Library: In 1982, a fire destroyed this branch.
Casa Lummis: The home of Charles Lummis, former City Librarian for Los Angeles.
Grand Central Market: The Los Angeles Public Library was once located here on the top floor.
Mount Washington: The neighborhood John Feathers had lived in and where his collection of maps was found.
Nebraska State Capitol: One of the buildings Bertram Goodhue designed.
National Academy of Sciences: One of the buildings Bertram Goodhue designed.
Church of Intercession: One of the churches Bertram Goodhue designed.
Southwest Museum of the American Indian: The museum was founded by Charles Lummis.
Reviews
“Engaging . . . Bibliophiles will love this fact-filled, bookish journey.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Susan Orlean has long been one of our finest storytellers, and she proves it again with The Library Book. A beautifully written and richly reported account, it sheds new light on a thirty-year-old mystery—and, what’s more, offers a moving tribute to the invaluableness of libraries.”
—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z
“After reading Susan Orlean’s The Library Book, I’m quite sure I’ll never look at libraries, or librarians, the same way again. This is classic Orlean—an exploration of a devastating fire becomes a journey through a world of infinite richness, populated with unexpected characters doing unexpected things, with unexpected passion.”
—Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City, In the Garden of Beasts, and Dead Wake