Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon Schuster, and Susan Orlean for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book - anyone who grew up in libraries and loves books will treasure this book!
At its base, this book is about the Los Angeles Public Library and the fire that threatened to consume it in 1986 as well as the story of the main suspect in the fire. But it goes far beyond that - we learn not only the history for the LA Library but of libraries in general, here and around the world. While we learn about the fire and its devastation on the library itself, we also learn about the people who made the library what it is and those who continue that tradition into the current day. We learn what libraries mean to nations, communities, the homeless, and how libraries remain relevant in this internet age.
But most of all, this is a love story of books and what they mean to us. It will bring back childhood memories of being taken to the library and taking your children to the library. My dad is gone now, but some of my fondest memories where when he would take me to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base library where we would sit for hours reading and researching. Pre-google days, if I had a question he couldn't answer he would say, "Let's go to the library."
5 glowing stars to this book - don't miss it!
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