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. 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. 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 twenty years, journalist Joshua Hammer visited Timbuktu numerous times and is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Haidara’s heroic and ultimately successful effort to outwit Al Qaeda and preserve Mali’s—and the world’s—literary patrimony. 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.
Reviews
This book was recently mentioned in the ALA Think Tank Facebook group, so I imagine every library and librarian in America will end up with this book. I wonder how many of us could have done what this librarian did!
The title of this book covers just about everything the book is about, in a nutshell. I learned a lot about the early (medieval) literary of north Africa, which makes sense considering Egypt is not far, but I did not know much about the manuscripts and academic culture covering centuries in the desert. That history lays the groundwork for Abdul Kader Haidara, the most significant gatherer of these manuscripts, gaining the trust of families who had held manuscripts for generations, building multiple libraries and archives in Timbuktu. He was very active in seeking outside funding for buildings and materials, up through the threats posed by Al Qaeda and the fundamentalist Islamic state being imposed on the residents of the city. He could see that cultural relics might be destroyed, and was able to arrange for the removal of almost 400 thousand items. Truly amazing.
I enjoyed this read, I think an entire book on one collection and one story was refreshing compared to books like A Universal History of the Destruction of Books: From Ancient Sumer to Modern-Day Iraq (don't get me wrong, that book is excellent but spans many times and places.) I got a bit bogged down in the terrorist roll-call, although I did end up spending some time on the United States Counter-Terrorism website looking up the faces of the leaders mentioned.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The title of this book covers just about everything the book is about, in a nutshell. I learned a lot about the early (medieval) literary of north Africa, which makes sense considering Egypt is not far, but I did not know much about the manuscripts and academic culture covering centuries in the desert. That history lays the groundwork for Abdul Kader Haidara, the most significant gatherer of these manuscripts, gaining the trust of families who had held manuscripts for generations, building multiple libraries and archives in Timbuktu. He was very active in seeking outside funding for buildings and materials, up through the threats posed by Al Qaeda and the fundamentalist Islamic state being imposed on the residents of the city. He could see that cultural relics might be destroyed, and was able to arrange for the removal of almost 400 thousand items. Truly amazing.
I enjoyed this read, I think an entire book on one collection and one story was refreshing compared to books like A Universal History of the Destruction of Books: From Ancient Sumer to Modern-Day Iraq (don't get me wrong, that book is excellent but spans many times and places.) I got a bit bogged down in the terrorist roll-call, although I did end up spending some time on the United States Counter-Terrorism website looking up the faces of the leaders mentioned.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, from the publisher through Edelweiss.
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