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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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THE LIBRARY BOOK
From the bestselling author of THE ORCHID THIEF and a leading writer of narrative non-fiction comes a love letter to a beloved institution: libraries - told through a captivating investigation of a mysterious arson case that remains unsolved. With her characteristic humor, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, Susan Orlean returns with this investigation of the legendary Central Library Fire, and the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives.
Within seven hours 400'000 books were destroyed on April 29, 1986 in a fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. Thanks to long-term planning and protocols, all patrons and employees were evacuated within five minutes, yet the blaze continued.
Investigators descended on the scene, determined to find the culprit, but to no avail. Over thirty years later, the mystery remains: who would set fire to a library and why?
To truly understand what happens behind the stacks, Orlean visits the different departments of the library, encountering a colorful cast of employees and patrons and experiencing alongside them the victories and struggles they face in the modern age. She also studies the evolution of libraries across the country and the world, attempts to burn a copy of a book herself, and tries to track down the actor long suspected of setting the fire over thirty years ago. Along the way, she learns that these buildings provide much more than just books - and that we need them now more than ever.
Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the author of seven books, including RIN TIN TIN, SATURDAY NIGHT and THE ORCHID THIEF, which was made into the Academy Awardwinning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in upstate New York and Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and Twitter.com/SusanOrlean.
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Book
Published 2018-10-16 by Simon & Schuster |