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PBS News Hour

Why a library fire feels like an ‘attack on humanity’

In April 1986, fire raged through the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, damaging or destroying more than a million books. Journalist and author Susan Orlean resurrects this nearly forgotten story in “The Library Book,” which also explores the emotional attachment so many of us feel to books and libraries. Jeffrey Brown shares this true-life tale of loss and revitalization.

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