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Susan Orlean
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The Library Book Hardcover – October 16, 2018

by Susan Orlean (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10,260 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
See all formats and editions
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.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    October 16, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1476740186
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1476740188
  8. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned.
    Highlighted by 5,764 Kindle readers
  2. The reading of the book was a journey. There was no need for souvenirs.
    Highlighted by 4,542 Kindle readers
  3. Writing a book, just like building a library, is an act of sheer defiance. It is a declaration that you believe in the persistence of memory.
    Highlighted by 4,127 Kindle readers
  4. On a library bookshelf, thought progresses in a way that is logical but also dumbfounding, mysterious, irresistible.
    Highlighted by 1,663 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Moving . . . A constant pleasure to read . . . Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book. . . . Orlean, a longtime New Yorker writer, has been captivating us with human stories for decades, and her latest book is a wide-ranging, deeply personal, and terrifically engaging investigation of humanity’s bulwark against oblivion: the library. . . . As a narrator, Orlean moves like fire herself, with a pyrotechnic style that smolders for a time over some ancient bibliographic tragedy, leaps to the latest technique in book restoration, and then illuminates the story of a wildly eccentric librarian. Along the way, we learn how libraries have evolved, responded to depressions and wars, and generally thrived despite a constant struggle for funds. Over the holidays, every booklover in America is going to give or get this book. . . . You can’t help but finish The Library Book and feel grateful that these marvelous places belong to us all.”
—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“A sheer delight. . . . Orlean has created a book as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library.”
—Chris Woodyard, USA Today

“Exquisitely written, consistently entertaining . . . A loving tribute not just to a place or an institution but to an idea . . . What makes The Library Book so enjoyable is the sense of discovery that propels it, the buoyancy when Orlean is surprised or moved by what she finds. . . . Her depiction of the Central Library fire on April 29, 1986, is so rich with specifics that it’s like a blast of heat erupting from the page. . . . The Library Book is about the fire and the mystery of how it started—but in some ways that’s the least of it. It’s also a history of libraries, and of a particular library, as well as the personal story of Orlean and her mother, who was losing her memory to dementia while Orlean was retrieving her own memories by writing this book.”
—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

“Captivating . . . A delightful love letter to public libraries . . . In telling the story of this one library, Orlean reminds readers of the spirit of them all, their mission to welcome and equalize and inform, the wonderful depths and potential that they—and maybe all of us, as well—contain. . . . In other hands the book would have been a notebook dump, packed with random facts that weren’t germane but felt too hard-won or remarkable to omit. Orlean’s lapidary skills include both unearthing the data and carving a storyline out of the sprawl, piling up such copious and relevant details that I wondered how many mountains of research she discarded for each page of jewels.”
—Rebekah Denn, Christian Science Monitor

“A flitting and meandering masterpiece . . . Compelling and undeniably riveting . . . This is a joyful book, and among its many pleasures is the reader’s ability to palpate the author’s thrill as she zooms down from stratospheric viewings of history, to viscerally detailed observations of events and people, and finally to the kind of irresistibly offbeat facts that create an equally irresistible portrait of the author herself.”
—J. C. Hallman, San Francisco Chronicle

“Vivid . . . Compelling . . . Ms. Orlean interweaves a memoir of her life in books, a whodunit, a history of Los Angeles, and a meditation on the rise and fall and rise of civic life in the United States. . . . By turns taut and sinuous, intimate and epic, Ms. Orlean’s account evokes the rhythms of a life spent in libraries . . . bringing to life a place and an institution that represents the very best of America: capacious, chaotic, tolerant and even hopeful, with faith in mobility of every kind, even, or perhaps especially, in the face of adversity.”
—Jane Kamenski, The Wall Street Journal

“[A] loving encomium to libraries everywhere.”
—Sue Halpern, The New York Review of Books

“A lovely book . . . Susan Orlean has once again found rich material where no one else has bothered to look for it. . . . Once again, she’s demonstrated that the feelings of a writer, if that writer is sufficiently talented and her feelings sufficiently strong, can supply her own drama. You really never know how seriously interesting a subject might be until such a person takes a serious interest in it.”
—Michael Lewis, New York Times Book Review

“A book lover’s dream . . . This is an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories.”
—Jeffrey Ann Goudie, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“When Susan Orlean fishes for a story, she reels in a hidden world. And so the latest delightful trawl from the author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief starts with the tale of the 1986 fire that damaged or destroyed 700,000 books in the Los Angeles Central Library. But The Library Book pans out quickly to the fractious, eccentric history of the institution and then, almost inevitably, a reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America. Orlean follows the narrative in all directions, juxtaposing the hunt for the library arsonist—possibly a frustrated actor—with a philosophical treatise on why and how libraries became the closest thing many of us experience to a town hall.”
—Hillary Kelly, New York Magazine

“Like an amble through the rooms and the stacks of a library, where something unexpected and interesting can be discovered on any page.”
—Scott Simon, NPR’s Weekend Edition

“Mesmerizing . . . A riveting mix of true crime, history, biography, and immersion journalism. . . . Probing, prismatic, witty, dramatic, and deeply appreciative, Orlean’s chronicle celebrates libraries as sanctuaries, community centers, and open universities run by people of commitment, compassion, creativity, and resilience.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“Engaging . . . Bibliophiles will love this fact-filled, bookish journey.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Of course, I will always read anything that Susan Orlean writes—and I would encourage you to do the same, regardless of the topic, because she’s always brilliant. But The Library Book is a particularly beautiful and soul-expanding book—even by Orleanean standards. You’re going to hear a lot about how important this story is, for shining a spotlight on libraries and the heroic people who run them. That’s all true, but there’s an even better reason to read it—because it will keep you spellbound from first page to last. Don’t miss out on this one, people!" —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic

“This is a book only Susan Orlean could have written. Somehow she manages to transform the story of a library fire into the story of literacy, civil service, municipal infighting and vision, public spaces in an era of increasingly privatization and social isolation, the transformation of Los Angeles from small provincial hamlet to innovative collossus and model of civic engagement—and the central role libraries have always and will always play in the life and health of a bustling democracy. Beyond all that, like any good library, it’s bursting with incredible tales and characters. There could be no better book for the bookish.”
—Dave Eggers, author of The Circle and The Monk of Mokha

“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

About the Author

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award–winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and on Twitter @SusanOrlean.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; First Edition (October 16, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476740186
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1476740188
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.38 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.1 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10,260 ratings

About the author

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Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean

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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 Award–winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in upstate New York and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and Twitter.com/SusanOrlean.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
10,260 global ratings
Incredible look at the community we know as a library.
5 Stars
Incredible look at the community we know as a library.
From the first time I walked into the East Nashville Public Library with my dad, I have been in love with libraries. He had already presented me with books that captured my heart. The daughter of a printer-publisher had no chance when it came to printed matter.Susan Orlean is another lover of libraries and books, and Orlean’s book, The Library Book, caught my eye quickly. Orlean is a new author to me, and I can’t believe I’m putting that in writing. I should have read more of her work. I understand from one Amazon review I read that “[h]er only peer for nonfiction is John McPhee.” If you haven’t read McPhee and you enjoy nonfiction, you should check out his books and essays.Back to my review. As you’ve learned from the synopsis, The Library Book centers around a fire that consumed the Los Angeles Public Library (“LAPL”) and many of its treasures on April 29, 1986. Investigations into the fire and its cause frustrated police and fire agencies, and investigators focused on one interesting and somewhat intriguing character, Harry Peak.Rather than write about a building, furniture, equipment, books, maps, and other elements of the library, Orlean shares with her readers a living, breathing, and in the midst of the horrific fire, dying soul. She shows us the tiny elements in the life of the library that richly personify it–the staff, the people who come and go on any given day, the children, the homeless, the hungry, the LGBTQ community, the persons who served as head librarian. We, her readers, come to know the library as a standing affirmation of its service to the community.Orlean accomplishes her personification of LAPL through the use of its history from beginning to eventual demise and rebuilding, including the enormous and intricate task of bringing back to their shelves over 700,000 books damaged by smoke and water that day in 1986.LAPL’s history was enriched by meeting those who served as head librarian, including the disputes over whether or not women were fit and capable of holding that position. Some of the chapters on this subject are comical at times in light of today’s continued and difficult upward movement of women into the management level positions in corporate and governmental America.Many have commented that they felt more attention should have been given to the fire rather than historical facts and materials. In my personal opinion, I believe Orlean structured The Library Book as she did because it was the best way to show the reader how important every detail of the LAPL was on the morning of April 29, 1986. In that way, Orlean could affirm the need to work as unceasingly and hard as the staff and others did to bring it back to flourishing life. LAPL was an essential part of the area of Los Angeles in which it resided. To allow it to simply disappear or worse come back as only half of what it had been would have been a blemish on the library’s history and family and a profound statement of how unimportant the library was to its patrons.My Recommendation: If you are a lover of books and libraries, you will love The Library Book for all the reasons I’ve shared with you and perhaps some you can share in your own review. Orleans writing is beautiful in many respects and intelligent and well-researched. As a writer, I have found in Orleans’ writing many lessons upon which I will draw as I continue moving ahead.
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Top reviews from the United States

amachinist
5.0 out of 5 stars "Once that first stack got going, it was 'Goodbye Charlie!'"
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2018
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This work by Susan Orlean is several genres of literature rolled into one. It begins as a memoir in which the reader learns about the author's introduction to books and libraries by her mother. They made frequent visits to a local branch in Cleveland. As an adult, Orlean fortuitously was brought to the LA Central Branch library by her son's school project. The family had recently moved to CA from NY. On this initial visit, Orlean learned about the destruction of the LA Central Branch by fire in 1986. Why had she never heard about this event? The memoir morphs into a criminal investigation. The fire occurred on April 29, 1986. It burned for over 7 hours. More than 20 people were injured and over fifty firefighters hospitalized. One million books were damaged, some beyond repair and other contents of the library destroyed irreparably. Fire investigators from both the LA Fire Department and the Federal Department of ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) concluded that the conflagration was caused by arson. Who would do such a thing and why?

This is also a history book. It not only traces the history of books, but also the history of the development of libraries. More than just places for the storage of books, libraries, especially the LA Central Branch, have become refuges for the homeless, learning centers for new immigrants, resources for anyone wishing to enroll in public services like welfare, food stamps and job searches. It is a place where people from infants to seniors find books and social connections. Libraries are after all free and open to everyone. The reader will be amazed at the diversity of the collections held in the LA Central Branch. There is a lot of politics involved in both the leadership and funding of libraries. Orlean focuses mainly on the ups and downs of the LA library system from its inception in 1870 to the present.

For this reviewer, the most painful part of the history of books and libraries, was that involving the burning of books. The first recorded instance occurred in 213 BC when the Chinese emperor was displeased with "his" history recorded by the royal scribes. He had their manuscripts burned. Orlean reports an estimate of 100,000,000 books burned by the Nazis before and during WWII. Starting with the books and manuscripts of Jews ("the people of the book"), libraries of nations invaded by the Nazis including the national libraries of Poland, the Czech Republic and France were torched. After the war, the Hague passed a Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Did this prevent any further burning of libraries and their contents?

Finally, this is a romance, certainly one that the reader can appreciate. Books not only teach, but also transform our worlds. Libraries provide the raw material for our knowledge and transformation be that through hardbacks, paperbacks, E-books or other media. It is fitting that the author dedicates this book to her mother who passed away before the work was completed. For all of us, as Orlean notes, "a library is a place that doesn't belong to me, but feels like mine...marvelous and exceptional." This reviewer urges every reader and patron of libraries to read and revel in this remarkable book which highlights both the written word and the repositories of these treasures.
35 people found this helpful
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B. Wilfong
4.0 out of 5 stars “A library is a good place to soften solitude.”
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2020
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Inspired by the story of the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986 Susan Orlean has written a book about one particular library, which encompasses what libraries are to communities in general. The result is part mystery, part history, part treatise on the roles of libraries in culture; resulting overall in a mostly enjoyable read for anyone who has ever loved the library.
Early in the text Ms. Orlean recalls childhood memories of going to library and it is spot on to my experiences of the same, and if that short sequence was all that was good about the the book it would have been enough for me. I loved it, it captured that experience perfectly!
I enjoyed immensely the section of “The Library Book” that dealt with the history of the Los Angeles Public Library/System. It has a rich history filled with colorful characters. The parts of the text that focused on the current aspects of the library/system I could have cared less for. Something was missing. The book has three focuses, the above mentioned two aspects, and the story of the devastating fire in 1986 at the library and the resulting investigation. I was interested in 2 of the 3 focuses, so I’ll take it.
Occasionally the author tries to wax a little poetic and the prose is just overstuffed, and not good. These sections feel forced, especially when compared to the moments where her language is soaring (see above mentioned example). I noticed her best writing in this text was when she is talking about personal experience.
Overall, “The Library Book” is an enjoyable read, and despite the above mentioned exceptions, I was engaged throughout. Libraries matter, and Ms. Orlean has done a lovely job of weaving together various threads to create a book that defends and champions one of civilized societies most ancient and long standing traditions.
2 people found this helpful
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John Spritz
5.0 out of 5 stars Best nonfiction book written in the last ten years? Yup.
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
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There is nothing to dislike about Susan Orlean's "The Library Book." Have you ever been to a library? Have you ever read a book? Have you ever wondered about the secret, inner life of libraries? Then Read. This. Book.
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Top reviews from other countries

Daniel James Fogarty
5.0 out of 5 stars An homage to libraries. A story of LA.
Reviewed in Brazil on February 18, 2021
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I have always loved libraries. I've never been to Los Angeles, or its central library, but in The Library Book, Susan Orleans takes you there. This book is a story of a place, a history, a city. It is the story of a tragedy, too: the fire that almost wiped out a temple to learning.
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andrea
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
Reviewed in Mexico on February 15, 2021
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Excelente
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Peter Longden
5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining history, with a mystery, of libraries.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2021
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For anyone with a love of books, bookshops and libraries, which I have with a passion, this is a delight. The focus is the Los Angeles Central library damaged by fire in 1986 and deals with the emotion of librarians and users of that library in the aftermath of the tragedy. Hereby hangs the mystery, a big part of the book exploring the who and the how of the fire.
The book excels at giving a solid history of libraries from their earliest beginnings, through the innovative ways libraries exist around the world (the concept of a donkey library in Central America perhaps my favourite); social history is told through libraries, how 5hey feature in people’s lives and their importance as safe spaces particularly (perhaps, controversially) to homeless people; coming right up to date with e-libraries and the huge developments thanks to the Gates Foundation investing in the interconnection of libraries and people with libraries at the hub.
It is an entertaining read, with innumerable stories told sensitively, by Susan Orlean, most evident in telling of the tragic story of Henry Peak, suspected of starting the fire, but whose life was most affected at the time of the growth and impact of AIDS.
Susan Orleans dedicates part of her life to researching and writing the book and her commitment and compassion shines through to the last dedication to her mother who she knew would have been pleased to see her in (the LA) library and, she as says: ‘Mom, I made this book for you’.
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P. Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a library geek, you will love this book.
Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2019
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I was hooked after the first chapter as the author described the catastrophic fire in 1986 at the Central Library in Los Angeles. I have no recollection of this fire but with nearly 1 million books damaged or destroyed it was monumental in the library world. However, the week's news was over run with other stories so it got pushed back to middle of the paper. But the heart of the story to me was the research the author did exploring the history of libraries not just the LA library although over the years, the visionaries who headed up that library started programs that forever changed libraries. The take away is that libraries are more than just a storage place for books. They are gathering places, safe places, places to help teach and aid those looking for information yes, but also homes, health care, social services. One stop shopping. Our library now lends out bird watching kits, telescopes, ukuleles; there is a year waiting list for telescopes.
The author described her early love of libraries when she went with her mother and sat on the floor to find her own books. I recall doing exactly that as I sat on a dirty rug in a basement library of a small town and selected all the 'My Friend Flicka' and Black Beauty books in my 'horsey' stage. I still read when I can and Amazon is my go to place.
Some may find this book dull if you think it is just a mystery story and 'who done it' about catching the arsonist. I found it captivating and have lent to a friend who is the librarian of a high school.
A book not for all but it was for me.
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Ale
5.0 out of 5 stars A book lover’s book!
Reviewed in Italy on August 21, 2020
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The love of books and the fascinating world surrounding them.
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