StartGroepenDiscussieMeerTijdgeest
Doorzoek de site
Onze site gebruikt cookies om diensten te leveren, prestaties te verbeteren, voor analyse en (indien je niet ingelogd bent) voor advertenties. Door LibraryThing te gebruiken erken je dat je onze Servicevoorwaarden en Privacybeleid gelezen en begrepen hebt. Je gebruik van de site en diensten is onderhevig aan dit beleid en deze voorwaarden.

Resultaten uit Google Boeken

Klik op een omslag om naar Google Boeken te gaan.

Bezig met laden...

The Library Book

door Susan Orlean

Andere auteurs: Zie de sectie andere auteurs.

LedenBesprekingenPopulariteitGemiddelde beoordelingAanhalingen
4,9032822,229 (4.09)244
"On the morning of April 28, 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 false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, "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 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."--Dust jacket.… (meer)
Bezig met laden...

Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden.

Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek.

» Zie ook 244 vermeldingen

Engels (276)  Spaans (2)  Duits (2)  Italiaans (1)  Alle talen (281)
1-5 van 281 worden getoond (volgende | toon alle)
The Los Angeles Central Library had a massive fire in 1986. That's the background for this book. But rather than just tell the story of the fire, Susan Orlean uses it to explore the world of libraries. You may think you know libraries. I can assure you, you will learn more about them by reading this book. The story of the fire is anti-climactic. While many think they know who started the fire, the suspected culprit was never convicted of the crime. We learn a ton about his life as a want-to-be actor who, like many who seek their fame in Tinseltown, never finds it. Instead, he becomes, and possibly always was, someone who constantly tells different stories whenever asked. When confronted with his inconsistencies, he was more than ready to say that last story I made up. This is how it happened, fill in the blank. He was gay and an early victim of AIDS. While his story is fascinating, the story of the Library is even more.

Orlean has done her research. She takes us back to the beginnings, even to Alexandria. She focuses on their growth in the United States but lets us know libraries were everywhere and even today are part of every country. We learn of her personal attachment to libraries. She explains how she was drawn to her local library where she went with her mother. Those times are fond memories she shares with us. She wants to convey how special libraries are to many people. She also describes the difficulty she had trying to burn a book. She wanted to see what happened when a book burned, but it brought up too many emotions. Her husband had a solution. He gave her a paperback copy of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 specifically for the purpose. That she could handle. We also learn how totalitarian regimes focus on books and libraries. Book burning was their thing, and they saw it as a way of controlling and stifling any opposition. Libraries are just too important to people. Dictators understand.

We learn of the beginnings of the Los Angeles library in 1872. Orlean describes how it evolved with the growth of the city and the early librarians that nurtured it. She describes how each person who took control expanded its mission to be more than just a place to store books. The variety of what can be found at libraries is amazing. Of course there are books and maps and periodicals. As they became communal places, more and more were added — games, computers, patent records, photographs, manuscripts, cards, documents, audio files, records, film, almost anything one could collect that others might want. As the libraries' role expanded, larger and larger buildings were needed to accommodate the collections and the patrons. In the 1920s, they finally came up with the funding to create a Central Library and commissioned a building to occupy an entire block in the center of downtown. It was a thing of beauty. Sixty years later, it was showing serious signs of aging. Its collection was bigger than the available shelf space. It lacked many of the minimum standards required of new buildings, even simple things like fire doors and sprinkler systems were nowhere. It was a major fire hazard. Its vertical stacks became chimneys in short order. All that it lacked was a simple flame.

The Los Angeles Fire Department faced a major challenge. It took 70 units, hundreds of men, tons of water, special tactics such as blasting holes in a hallowed building and most importantly, more than six hours to bring the inferno under control. The damage was extensive. The Arson unit needed to find out how this started and determine whether arson was involved. After interviewing people who were there and inspecting what the fire hadn't totally destroyed, they were convinced it was arson and there was one man, Harry Peak, they were convinced was responsible. His story kept changing, admitting he was there, denying he was there, providing friends as alibi witnesses. The Arson squad felt their job was done. They were incensed when prosecutors declined to charge Harry Peak citing insufficient evidence. No one has been convicted. With the fire contained the librarians were not focused on blame. They wanted to save as much of the collections as possible. That meant rescuing what was salvageable. The water-damaged volumes needed to be protected from mold, and the main approach was freezing until restoration techniques could be developed to deal with the millions of damaged books, maps, documents, etc.

Orlean interviewed many of those still available. She also described the various directors and their relations with the board controlling the library. Each director added their own approach and expanded the role of the library. They were colorful characters. Eventually, the professionalization of the directors matched the development of library science. Several of the directors came to Los Angeles after heading up a series of larger and larger systems. Each having to deal with the challenges of homeless patrons, computerization, community relations, social service needs, etc. Many librarians come to their profession with a devotion for the role of libraries as public goods. It's not just answering questions, acquiring books, and maintaining order. Orlean widens the lens to get the fuller picture of the modern library. She clearly is on board. ( )
  Ed_Schneider | Mar 10, 2024 |
Another great book from Susan orlean . In exploring the Los Angeles
Library fire and it’s aftermath, she also explores libraries in general and their role in democracies and their still vital place in the world. From charming anecdotes about camel delivered books to a saddening history of a woman openly losing her job solely because she was a woman, the book is overflowing with riches ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
NF
  vorefamily | Feb 22, 2024 |
«RESEÑA DEL LIBRO, LA BIBLIOTECA EN LLAMAS DE SUSAN ORLEAN BY JANE - 10:11

»¡Buenos días! Hoy te reseño un libro que se cataloga como no ficción novelada y forma parte de la colección, Temas de hoy. Un libro que apreciaréis muchísimo si valoráis la lectura, las bibliotecas y sobre todo si consideráis que los libros son algo consustancial a vuestra vida.

(...)

»MI OPINIÓN DE "LA BIBLIOTECA EN LLAMAS":

»En "Hablemos de Libros" ya publiqué mi opinión pero quiero dejarla en el blog para que más gente pueda leerla. Empiezo diciendo que me ha gustado, como habréis podido comprobar sólo reseño libros que me gustan aunque tenga alguna objeción que hacer, podría decirse que esta sección de libros es una apartado de RECOMENDACIONES, pero vamos con este libro que es una mezcla de novela, documental, reportaje periodístico. La editorial Planeta que me envió este ejemplar para reseña lo cataloga como no ficción novelada.

»La autora es una periodista y también novelista norteamericana con una vinculación personal a las bibliotecas y la lectura. Se entera del incendio de una biblioteca e inicia una investigación sobre la misma. Este libro es su narración en primera persona del proceso de investigación de años, desde el conocimiento del incendio y lo mezcla con sus reflexiones personales acerca del significado de la lectura, el valor de los libros, las bibliotecas, lo que tienen de centros para la comunidad, etc. Al mismo tiempo nos cuenta también cosas acerca del incendio, entrevistas con los bomberos, expertos en incendios, la vida del supuesto pirómano, la sociedad volcada para salvar los libros, el sistema bibliotecario, cómo hoy en día la biblioteca es más que un almacén de libros, etc. Es un libro entretenido y ameno, escrito de forma agradable y no se hace pesado pero ya os digo que está lleno de datos sobre las bibliotecas, conversaciones con bibliotecarios, bomberos, arquitectos, cualquier personaje con relevancia para poder contar lo del incendio y la función de la biblioteca como centro comunitario, el valor de la lectura, etc.

»He disfrutado de la lectura y considero que muchas de sus reflexiones son las que cualquiera de nosotros podríamos hacer de lo que disfrutamos leyendo o de lo que los libros significan. Muchos decís que leéis dos libros a la vez y creo que este libro sería ideal para este tipo de lectura. Lo que quiero decir es que me ha gustado y he disfrutado de todo el conocimiento que te proporciona este libro pero ha sido una lectura más pausada que si leyera una novela, creo que hubiera estado bien alternarlo con una lectura de ficción. No es como una novela que necesitas conocer el desenlace o lo que pasa con este personaje y aquél. Muy interesante y la verdad desconocía muchas de las cosas que se cuentan en esta historia. Se aprende y de forma amena pero no es una lectura para desconectar y que se lee en un plis plas, dicho esto la considero una lectura muy recomendable.

»Gracias a Planeta por enviarme este ejemplar para opinar.»

Fuente: https://www.elarmariodelubyjane.com/2019/05/resena-del-libro-la-biblioteca-en.ht... (visitada el 14-3-2024).

«Para quien no está vinculado directamente con el mundo de las bibliotecas, un libro que trate sobre la historia de una de estas entidades seguramente le parecerá denso –o de menos– poco atractivo; de ninguna manera es el caso del libro de Susan Orlean "La biblioteca en llamas", el cual es inspirador para todas las personas que diariamente están cerca de los libros y además, a través de una clara destreza, atrapa a todo aquel que tiene la suerte de tener en sus manos un ejemplar.

»La narrativa es ágil, fiel a los hechos reales, con trabajo profundo de investigación, hilada a partir de una sensible vivencia personal de la autora, que nos lleva a un acontecimiento poco conocido, ya que coincide con el desastre de la planta nuclear de Chernóbil, ocurrido el 26 de abril de 1986, en la central nuclear Vladímir Ilich Lenin, ubicada en el norte de Ucrania.

»Es extraordinario descubrir como una ciudad como Los Ángeles es capaz de detener su frenética actividad para hacer una cadena humana que permita el rescate de su patrimonio cultural, entendiendo que la biblioteca es una colección de narraciones que como especie nos acerca a la inmortalidad, una torre de libros es un tótem simbólico al que podemos recurrir no solo por información, sino para resguardar la mente del caos imperante en el entorno.

»A través de este libro recordamos a Ranganathan (bibliotecario indio, 1892-1972, creador de la clasificación facetada y considerado padre de la bibliotecología en la India) y aplicamos una de sus leyes donde nos damos cuenta que las bibliotecas son un gigantesco ser vivo, infinito y comunitario, que posee dentro de sí tal cantidad de conocimiento que podría a manera de ciencia ficción convertirse en un ente con inteligencia propia. No se trata solo de un almacén de libros, es un lugar de encuentro, refugio, contención, formación; un bien público.

»La autora nos lleva –casi sin que nos demos cuenta– por la historia de la biblioteca de Los Ángeles, lo que es igual a llevarnos por la historia de California, de Estados Unidos de América y del mundo. No es exagerado afirmar que los vaivenes históricos moldean las decisiones, las formas físicas, los contenidos, los servicios, los programas, los alcances, las visiones y las misiones de las bibliotecas, tan es así que una biblioteca será el reflejo de una sociedad y un momento histórico, así de viva está.

»Mas no sólo encontramos eventos macros, el libro nos muestra el impacto de las bibliotecas en la vida de sus directores y cómo la microhistoria y cosmovisión de cada uno de ellos se ve reflejada en el trabajo que realizan.

»Desde Mary Foy, la primera bibliotecaria que fue despedida a pasar de su reconocida labor porque la junta municipal consideró que no necesitaba tanto el empleo como su sucesora, hasta Szabo, que es un apasionado que reconoce la necesidad de dar atención a los cientos de indigentes que visitan la biblioteca; pasando por la locura de Lummis, que con su carisma atrajo a nuevos usuarios, nuevos proyectos e igual cantidad de problemas; o la aguerrida Kelso, que se atrevió a poner en estantería un libro censurado y que enfrentó a la junta del ayuntamiento y al señalamiento público.

»Cada uno de ellos, desde su perspectiva y recursos, protegió el derecho de los usuarios a la información, defendió ese derecho como una necesidad que nos distingue como humanos, comprendiendo que cuando hay problemas se recurre a las bibliotecas como un hogar seguro, de tal suerte que la Biblioteca Central de Los Ángeles abrió sus puertas cuando se necesitaba un centro de extracción de sangre, cuando las personas dejaban dentro de las páginas de los libros mensajes que sabían que podían ser peligrosos, mensajes anhelantes en espera de un giro del azar que los llevara hasta esa persona perdida.

»Los libros estaban prestos cuando la gran depresión era apabullante y era un consuelo poder llevarse de forma gratuita un libro en préstamo, porque se podía carecer de casi todo, pero el acceso al conocimiento seguía siendo una alternativa al alcance de la mano; la biblioteca estaba ahí prestando su espacio y materiales durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial para que el ejército aprendiera sobre los alemanes y sus alcances tecnológicos y científicos.

»La biblioteca también estaba cuando una alarma por fuga de gas sacó a cientos de personas de sus hogares y les brindó refugio.

»Es evidente que los problemas sociales atañen a las bibliotecas, porque los límites entre una y otra cosa están dibujados solo por muros porosos que filtran los temores y necesidades de las comunidades que las albergan.

»El evento catastrófico que marca profundamente la historia de la Biblioteca Central de Los Ángeles, y el cual da pauta a la autora, es el incendio del 29 de abril de 1986, con duración de siete horas y treinta y ocho minutos, en donde cuatrocientos mil libros fueron consumidos por el fuego y setecien-tos mil más fueron severamente dañados por el humo y el agua; lo equivalente a más de una docena de bibliotecas de tamaño estándar.

»El lugar continuó caliente después de cinco días, los bomberos se vieron obligados a usar tal canti-dad de agua que los ingenieros que revisaron el lugar tenían miedo de que el peso del agua provo-cara socavones; pero, además, determinaron que el incendio había sido provocado.

»La quema de libros intencional es un hecho repetitivo en la historia. En 1933 el partido nazi, sabiendo lo fundamental que son los libros, organizó en la plaza de la Ópera de Berlín lo que se conoce como Feuersprüche (hechizo de fuego), en donde se quemaron entre veinticinco mil y noventa mil libros escritos por judíos, lo que representó una tortura psicológica para "el pueblo del libro", y como lo predijo el poeta alemán Heinrich Heine: "Allí donde se queman libros, acaban quemándose hombres".

»En 1954 la Convención de La Haya creó un tratado para la protección del patrimonio cultural en caso de conflictos armados, lo cual no impidió que Mao durante la llamada "Revolución cultural" mandara quemar todos los libros, excepto los escritos por él, Marx y Lenin; o que los Jemeres Rojos quemaran los libros de la Biblioteca Nacional de Camboya; o que el ejército iraquí quemara la mayoría de las bibliotecas de Kuwait en 1990; o que casi doscientas bibliotecas ardieran en Bosnia y el noventa por ciento de la Biblioteca Nacional de Sarajevo fuera destruida.

»Cabe destacar que lo ocurrido en la Biblioteca Nacional de Los Ángeles no fue un acto en tiempos de guerra, aunque ver arder libros es ver la desaparición de las ideas con las que no estamos de acuerdo, lo cual se aplica de igual manera en tiempos de relativa paz y de abierta guerra. Acabar con los libros que hablan de una cultura o una idea no solo representa su muerte, es pretender que nunca nació.

»Harry Peak es el hombre señalado por los investigadores como el culpable del incendio; los expertos trabajaron arduamente para reunir pruebas, pero ¿qué motivó a este hombre sin aparente resentimiento social a un acto de tal magnitud?

»Orlean, de una forma muy peculiar, nos proporciona a través de su extraordinaria investigación todos los elementos para conocerlo. "La biblioteca en llamas" es un material imperdible.

»Cuando un pueblo pierde su memoria se pierde a sí mismo y quien no conoce la historia la repite, de ahí la importancia de la conservación del patrimonio cultural.»

Mary Carmen Rivera
Secretaría Académica,
Dirección General de Bibliotecas y Servicios Digitales de Información, UNAM

Fuente: «Biblioteca Universitaria», vol. 22, núm. 2, jul.-dic. 2019 – Vol. 23, núm. 1, en.-jun. 2020, pp. 221-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/dgb.0187750xp.0.0.1001 (visitada el 8-3-2024).

«Resumen y sinopsis de "La biblioteca en llamas" de Susan Orlean:

»La historia de cualquier incendio es la historia de un olvido, por eso casi nadie recuerda lo que ocurrió el 29 de abril de 1986. Aquel día la Biblioteca Pública de Los Ángeles amaneció consumida por el fuego, cuatrocientos mil libros se convirtieron en cenizas y otros setecientos mil quedaron irremediablemente dañados. Siete horas ardieron las estanterías y las mesas y los ficheros, pero ningún periódico cubrió la noticia porque al otro lado del mundo, entre los bosques densos de la Unión Soviética, ocurría el mayor accidente nuclear hasta la fecha: Chernóbil.

¿Quién querría quemar una biblioteca? ¿Por qué? Susan Orlean se hizo esas dos preguntas y al poco tiempo entendió que el fuego sería apenas un rastro, una línea punteada sobre la que dibujar su personalísima visión del conocimiento y de las personas que creen en él. "La biblioteca en llamas" es un homenaje a la lectura y el relato de una periodista obsesionada por encontrar al culpable de un crimen contra la memoria. Una investigación que se extendió más de una década y que a cambio nos revela personajes desopilantes, inverosímiles y tiernos».

Fuente: https://www.lecturalia.com/libro/99980/la-biblioteca-en-llamas (visitada el 14-3-2024). ( )
  Biblioteca-LPAeHijos | Feb 9, 2024 |
A NF book about the 1926 Los Angeles Central Library fire and a history of the library. Very informative read. Kirkus: An engaging, casual history of librarians and libraries and a famous one that burned down.In her latest, New Yorker staff writer Orlean (Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, 2011, etc.) seeks to ?tell about a place I love that doesn?t belong to me but feels like it is mine.? It?s the story of the Los Angeles Public Library, poet Charles Bukowski?s ?wondrous place,? and what happened to it on April 29, 1986: It burned down. The fire raged ?for more than seven hours and reached temperatures of 2000 degreesmore than one million books were burned or damaged.? Though nobody was killed, 22 people were injured, and it took more than 3 million gallons of water to put it out. One of the firefighters on the scene said, ?We thought we were looking at the bowels of hell.It was surreal.? Besides telling the story of the historic library and its destruction, the author recounts the intense arson investigation and provides an in-depth biography of the troubled young man who was arrested for starting it, actor Harry Peak. Orlean reminds us that library fires have been around since the Library of Alexandria; during World War II, ?the Nazis alone destroyed an estimated hundred million books.? She continues, ?destroying a culture?s books is sentencing it to something worse than death: It is sentencing it to seem as if it never happened.? The author also examines the library?s important role in the city since 1872 and the construction of the historic Goodhue Building in 1926. Orlean visited the current library and talked to many of the librarians, learning about their jobs and responsibilities, how libraries were a ?solace in the Depression,? and the ongoing problems librarians face dealing with the homeless. The author speculates about Peak?s guilt but remains ?confounded.? Maybe it was just an accident after all.Bibliophiles will love this fact-filled, bookish journey.
  bentstoker | Jan 26, 2024 |
1-5 van 281 worden getoond (volgende | toon alle)
On 29 April 1986 Los Angeles Central Library went up in flames. ... Susan Orlean has a knack for finding compelling stories in unlikely places. ... Orlean uses the fire to ask a broader question about just what public libraries are for and what happens when they are lost. You might not perhaps have LA pegged as the most bookish city, yet right from its inception in 1873, the central library attracted a higher proportion of citizens through its doors than anywhere else in the US. By 1921 more than a thousand books were being checked out every hour. The reason for that, Orlean suggests, is that LA has always been a city of seekers – first came the gold prospectors and the fruit growers, then the actors and the agents, and then all the refugees from the dust bowl prairies. No one was as solid or as solvent as they liked to appear, everyone was looking for clues about how to do life better.

This was where the library came in, providing the instruction manual for a million clever hacks and wheezes. In the runup to prohibition in 1920 every book on how to make homemade hooch was checked out and never returned. Five years later a man called Harry Pidgeon became only the second person to sail solo around the world, having got the design for his boat from books borrowed from the LA public library. More mundanely, the library quickly became the chief centre for free English language classes in the city, a service that it continues to provide for its huge immigrant population today.

It is this sense of a library as a civic junction that most interests Orlean. ... Or, as she puts it: "Every problem that society has, the library has, too; nothing good is kept out of the library, and nothing bad."
toegevoegd door Cynfelyn | bewerkThe Guardian, Kathryn Hughs (Feb 16, 2019)
 
“The Library Book” is, in the end, a Whitmanesque yawp, 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.
toegevoegd door tim.taylor | bewerkThe Wall Street Journal, Jane Kamensky (betaal website) (Oct 11, 2018)
 

» Andere auteurs toevoegen

AuteursnaamRolType auteurWerk?Status
Orlean, Susanprimaire auteuralle editiesbevestigd
André, EmeliVertalerSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Loman, CarlyOntwerperSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Peters-Collaer, LaurenOmslagontwerperSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Schneiter, SylvieVertalerSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Trejo, JuanVertalerSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Villeneuve, GuillaumeVertalerSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd

Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)

Je moet ingelogd zijn om Algemene Kennis te mogen bewerken.
Voor meer hulp zie de helppagina Algemene Kennis .
Gangbare titel
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Oorspronkelijke titel
Alternatieve titels
Oorspronkelijk jaar van uitgave
Mensen/Personages
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Belangrijke plaatsen
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Belangrijke gebeurtenissen
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Verwante films
Motto
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Memory believes before knowing remembers.
---William Faulkner, Light in August
And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, We're remembering.
---Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library.
---Jorge Luis Borges, Dreamtigers
Opdracht
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
For Edith Orlean, my past
For Austin Gillespie, my future
Eerste woorden
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Even in Los Angeles, where there is no shortage of remarkable hairdos, Harry Peak attracted attention.
Citaten
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
A book feels like a thing alive in this moment, and also alive on a continuum, from the moment the thoughts about it first percolated in the writer's mind to the moment it sprang off the printing press---a lifeline that continues as someone sits with it and marvels over it, and it continues on, time after time after time.
The idea of being forgotten is terrifying. I fear not just that I, personally will be forgotten, but that we are all doomed to being forgotten---that the sum of life is ultimately nothing; that we experience joy and disappointment and aches and delights and loss, make our little mark on the world, and then we vanish, and the mark is erased, and it is as if we never existed.
Taking books away from a culture is to take away its shared memory. It's like taking away the ability to remember your dreams. Destroying a culture's books is sentencing it to something worse than death. It is sentencing it to seem as if it never lived.
Pigeons the color of concrete marched in a bossy staccato around the suitcases.
There was a sense of stage business—that churn of activity you can't hear or see but you feel at a theater in the instant before the curtain rises—of people finding their places and things being set right, before the burst of action begins.
Laatste woorden
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
(Klik om weer te geven. Waarschuwing: kan de inhoud verklappen.)
Ontwarringsbericht
Uitgevers redacteuren
Auteur van flaptekst/aanprijzing
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Oorspronkelijke taal
Informatie afkomstig uit de Engelse Algemene Kennis. Bewerk om naar jouw taal over te brengen.
Gangbare DDC/MDS
Canonieke LCC

Verwijzingen naar dit werk in externe bronnen.

Wikipedia in het Engels

Geen

"On the morning of April 28, 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 false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, "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 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."--Dust jacket.

Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden.

Boekbeschrijving
Haiku samenvatting

Actuele discussies

Geen

Populaire omslagen

Snelkoppelingen

Waardering

Gemiddelde: (4.09)
0.5
1 5
1.5
2 28
2.5 11
3 170
3.5 56
4 479
4.5 84
5 345

Ben jij dit?

Word een LibraryThing Auteur.

 

Over | Contact | LibraryThing.com | Privacy/Voorwaarden | Help/Veelgestelde vragen | Blog | Winkel | APIs | TinyCat | Nagelaten Bibliotheken | Vroege Recensenten | Algemene kennis | 202,661,140 boeken! | Bovenbalk: Altijd zichtbaar