
This recounting of the 1986 fire that devastated the Central Library in Los Angeles acts as a catalyst for a primer on the science of fire and also a look at how it may have started, a bit of library history worldwide, why libraries matter, hilarious stories about some of the goings-on in libraries and much more.
Orlean has the knack for pulling threads on a seemingly mundane institution and shining a light on what makes it special. After describing the book burnings during the Nazi regime in Germany she decides to burn one herself to get a truer sense of what that would feel like. It didn’t feel great. After a careful investigation on who may have started the fire she comes up confounded and thinks maybe it wasn’t arson after all.
Orlean has produced an informative and fascinating tribute to libraries.
Carol Lloyd is the Churchill County Librarian, and avid reader, and promoter of local artists.
Upload date:
01/08/2019 06:36 AM
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255
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Comment author: Dale H.
Comment text: RIP Danny! Thanks for the fun times and jokes.
Comment publication date: 5/16/26, 10:48 AM
Comment source: Danny Lewis
Comment author: PAT BURTON-COX
Comment text: Honoring Sheriff Richard Calvin Wilcox, III by Pat Burton-Cox of Fallon.
Comment publication date: 5/13/26, 1:53 AM
Comment source: Community Gathers to Honor a Life of Service, Faith, and Leadership
Comment author: Curt pelky
Comment text: We called the cops on this kid SEVERAL times when he was not even a teenager. The Churchill sheriff kept letting him off. I remember telling him that if he didn’t hold him accountable then, he’d wind up in prison. I was right
Comment publication date: 5/7/26, 7:33 PM
Comment source: Tenth Judicial District Court The Tenth Judicial District Court convened Tuesday, April 7, with Judge Thomas Stockard presiding.
Comment author: Elaine Baldwin
Comment text: It's perfect, thank you!
Comment publication date: 5/7/26, 3:04 PM
Comment source: Lavina Rae “Bonnie” Baldwin Kellerer

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