Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
Author | : | |
Rating | : | 4.39 (991 Votes) |
Asin | : | B01E7MUP2Y |
Format Type | : | |
Number of Pages | : | 230 Pages |
Publish Date | : | 2016-03-11 |
Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers. In 2012, thousands of Al Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. Hammer explores the city's manuscript heritage and offers never-before-reported details about the militants' march into northwest Africa. But above all, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is an inspiring account of the victory of art and literature over extremism.. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. Over the past 20 years, journalist Joshua Hammer visited Timbuktu numerous times and is uniquely qualified to tell the
wrangler said Good story, well-told, but with quibbles.. This is a fascinating tale and well told by Joshua Hammer. But there are quibbles, most of which we can attribute to the publisher's editors and fact-checkers.Proofing/editing errors are scattered throughout the book The author says Northwestern University is in Chicago. It is in Evanston. The text says B-5"Good story, well-told, but with quibbles." according to wrangler. This is a fascinating tale and well told by Joshua Hammer. But there are quibbles, most of which we can attribute to the publisher's editors and fact-checkers.Proofing/editing errors are scattered throughout the book The author says Northwestern University is in Chicago. It is in Evanston. The text says B-52 bombers carry "70,000 tons of weapons." In fact they carry 70,000 pounds of weapons.The book was apparently written in sections and characters are re-identified in cha. bombers carry "70,000 tons of weapons." In fact they carry 70,000 pounds of weapons.The book was apparently written in sections and characters are re-identified in cha. "A Great Story, But Not as Well Executed as I Would Have Liked." according to C. Henig. Timbuktu is one of those words that just sounds exotic and interesting - or so I thought when I discovered it on the globe as a child. That it was an Islamic center of learning in Africa was something I discovered in Scales of Gold, a novel in the Niccolo series by Dorothy Dunnett. Her hero ends up there and is caught up in the violence of one of its periodic political upheavals. Then as I read more and more about Islamic history in Africa, the importance of this city was . Timbuktu? Who would have thought??!! Timbuktu, often considered to be a metaphor for any faraway place, is actually a very fascinating city rich in history and culture. Located between the Sahara Desert and the Niger River in the West African nation of Mali, it dates back to 200 B.C. It was one of the greatest academic centers in the world for religion, arts, math and sciences. Abdel Kader Haidara has spent much of his life searching for centuries old books and manuscripts written by these early scholars. He