The case of the most devastating library fire in our country’s history remains unsolved. Touched off by an arsonist, the seven-hour, 2,000-degree inferno destroyed or damaged more than 1 million books at the Los Angeles Public Library in April 1986.

In a discussion of The Library Book, her acclaimed new account of the calamity, author and longtime New Yorker writer Susan Orlean details the library’s life and near-death experience and the renewed appreciation it stirred for the crucial role that libraries play in all our lives. The histories of the L.A. and Kansas City public libraries are intertwined, with Purd B. Wright and later Harold Louis Hamill serving as city librarian (now known as director) at both institutions.

Co-presented by Rainy Day Books.