![]() ![]() I read and reread her prologue and last chapter, they were so moving. Orlean, known for her skill with non fiction subjects, gives us a compelling story including wonderful Library characters, unknown processes of a Library, and a most interesting history of LA. ![]() This is a beautifully written ode to libraries wrapped around the true unsolved mystery of who set the devastating 1986 LA Central Library fire. A current librarian quotes Albert Schweitzer and this important message "All true living takes place face to face." Highly recommended! Her reassuring message throughout the book is that libraries are thriving despite (or maybe because of) the dual pressures of the digital age and the rise in homelessness. Orlean uses the fire as a springboard to spin portraits of a variety of fascinating personalities and extended discourses on such unrelated topics as the birth of the city of Los Angeles and the difficulties of arson investigation. ![]() In 1986, a massive fire at the Los Angeles Public Library was obscured in the national media by the concurrent Chernobyl disaster. ![]()
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