The Library Book

On April 29, 1986, a fire broke out in the Los Angeles Public Library, reaching 2000 degrees and burning for more than seven hours. The fire consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators searched for answers, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains unsolved: was the fire deliberately set, and if so, by whom? Susan Orlean weaves her lifelong love of books into an investigation of the fire and its aftermath. She chronicles the LAPL fire to showcase the broader role libraries play in communities, traces the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, and examines the case of Harry Peak, long suspected of setting the fire. Orlean introduces historical figures connected to the library, including Mary Foy, who became head of the Los Angeles Public Library at eighteen in 1880, and Charles Lummis, a journalist and adventurer who worked to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, alongside current staff members. The book explores what libraries mean to society, their history as charitable institutions, and their current role as cornerstones of national identity. Orlean also reflects on her own library experiences and studies arson.