By Coral Gables Gazette staff
An urgent national story arrives in Coral Gables this week as award-winning journalist Jacob Soboroff visits Books & Books to discuss his new book, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster. The Thursday, Jan. 15 event places one of the most consequential environmental disasters in recent American history into a setting designed for close listening, civic reflection, and rigorous conversation.
Soboroff will appear in conversation with journalist and author Michael Grunwald, whose reporting on politics, climate, and public policy has shaped national debates for more than two decades. Together, they will explore the events surrounding the catastrophic 2025 Los Angeles fires and the broader questions those fires raise about governance, climate adaptation, and collective responsibility.
Reporting from the center of the catastrophe
Firestorm is rooted in Soboroff’s experience covering the Palisades and Eaton fires as both a national correspondent and a lifelong Angeleno. When evacuation orders reached his own family, Soboroff moved from personal alarm to frontline reporting, documenting a city under siege and the systems pushed beyond their limits.
The book reconstructs the disaster through on-the-ground observation and months of follow-up reporting, drawing on interviews with firefighters, displaced residents, scientists, emergency managers, and political leaders. Rather than treating the fires as an isolated tragedy, Soboroff situates them within a pattern of accelerating risk, arguing that what happened in Los Angeles offers a preview of challenges facing cities across the country.
The narrative approach blends investigative reporting with personal reckoning, tracing how infrastructure decisions, land-use policy, climate conditions, and emergency response intersected during weeks of relentless destruction. The result is a work that reads with urgency while maintaining journalistic discipline.
A conversation shaped by context and consequence
Michael Grunwald’s role as moderator adds depth to the evening. A former staff writer for The Washington Post, Time, and POLITICO, Grunwald has written extensively on environmental policy, government reform, and the political mechanics behind large-scale public decisions. His presence signals that the discussion will move beyond chronology toward meaning.
Audience members can expect a conversation that addresses what the fires revealed about preparedness and governance, how public officials responded under pressure, and what lessons emerge for communities far from California. The exchange is likely to connect the lived experience of disaster to the policy choices that shape resilience and risk.
Local relevance
While the story unfolds in Los Angeles, its implications resonate in South Florida, where climate vulnerability, insurance pressure, and infrastructure resilience increasingly shape public life. Hosting this conversation in Coral Gables underscores how national environmental stories intersect with local civic awareness.
Books & Books has long positioned itself as a forum for serious public dialogue, and this event continues that tradition by pairing investigative journalism with open discussion. The bookstore’s Aragon Avenue location offers an intimate setting that encourages engagement rather than spectacle.
What to know before you go
The event takes place Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave. Tickets are required and include admission for two guests along with one copy of Firestorm, which will be distributed upon entry. Seating is limited, and advance purchase is recommended.
The format emphasizes conversation rather than formal lecture, making it well suited for readers interested in journalism, public policy, climate issues, and contemporary American history.
Event details at a glance
Firestorm | An Evening with Jacob Soboroff in conversation with Michael Grunwald
Date: Thursday, Jan. 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Books & Books, Coral Gables
Admission: Ticketed; includes one copy of Firestorm
