Susan Orlean, hailed as a "national treasure" by The Washington Post, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries. On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: It reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries, Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can.
Record details
ISBN:9781476740188
Physical Description:regular print 317 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition:First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publisher:New York, New York :Simon and Schuster,2018.
Summary: Susan Orlean, hailed as a "national treasure" by The Washington Post, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries. On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: It reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries, Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can.