- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Root to Rise, Stoney Creek, ON, CanadaRoot to Rise
AbeBooks seller since August 7, 2026
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 35.28
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
First Edition.A Very Good copy with light, gentle wear. Pages are clean with no major markings. Cover may show small scuffs or a faint crease. Binding remains strong. Overall, a well‑kept and attractive copy. Inventory #695.
Seller Inventory # 695
- Title
- The Library Book
- Author
- Orlean, Susan
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster
- Publication year
- 2018
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1476740186
- ISBN 13
- 9781476740188
- Edition
- 1st Edition
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.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Root to Rise
Stoney Creek, ON, Canada
AbeBooks seller since August 7, 2026
Shipping rates from Canada to U.S.A.
| Item | 7 to 14 business days | 5 to 9 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 12.66 | £ 26.05 |
Payment methods
Store description
Quality secondhand books including fiction, mysteries, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, classics, literary fiction, memoirs, and select nonfiction. New titles added regularly.
Specialty
New age, spirituality, yoga, fictionSeller's business information
Root to Rise
ON, Canada
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Root to Rise, Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.