The book smugglers of Timbuktu : the quest for this storied city and the race to save its treasures

Two tales of a city: The historical race to reach one of the world's most mythologized places, and the story of how a contemporary band of archivists and librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend. To Westerners, the name "Timbuktu" long conjured a tantalising paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves wore gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for "discovery" tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But one expedition after another went disastrously awry, succumbing to attack, the climate, and disease. Timbuktu was rich in another way too. A medieval centre of learning, it was home to tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts, on subjects ranging from religion to poetry, law to history, pharmacology, and astronomy. When al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents, a remarkable thing happened: a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit the manuscripts into hiding. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines these two suspenseful strands into a fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it it has become inseparable. “Timbuktu is a real place, and Charlie English will fuel your wanderlust with true descriptions of the fabled city’s past, present, and future.” –Fodor’s Two tales of a city: The historical race to “discover” one of the world’s most mythologized places, and the story of how a contemporary band of archivists and librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend. To Westerners, the name “Timbuktu” long conjured a tantalizing paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves wore gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for “discovery” tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But one expedition after another went disastrously awry, succumbing to attack, the climate, and disease. Timbuktu was rich in another way too. A medieval center of learning, it was home to tens of thousands—according to some, hundreds of thousands—of ancient manuscripts, on subjects ranging from religion to poetry, law to history, pharmacology, and astronomy. When al-Qaeda–linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents, a remarkable thing happened: a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit the manuscripts into hiding. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines these two suspenseful strands into a fraught and fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable. 'An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history and travel' Observer, Books of the Year 'A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication and ingenuity... [written with] exceptional delicacy and restraint' TLS To Westerners, the name 'Timbuktu' long conjured a tantalising paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves wore gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for discovery tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But one expedition after another went disastrously awry, succumbing to attack, climate, and disease. Timbuktu was rich in another way too. A medieval centre of learning, it was home to tens – according to some, hundreds – of thousands of ancient manuscripts, on subjects ranging from religion to poetry, law to history, pharmacology, and astronomy. When al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents, a remarkable thing happened: a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit the manuscripts into hiding. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines these two suspenseful strands into a fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable. The Story Of How A Team Of Librarians And Archivists Joined Forces To Spirit Tens Of Thousands Of Ancient Manuscripts Into Hiding When Al-qaeda-linked Jihadists Surged Across Mali In 2012, Threatening The Existence Of These Precious Documents. Relying On Extensive Research And Firsthand Reporting, Charlie English Expertly Twines A Fraught And Fascinating Account Of One Of The Planet's Extraordinary Places, And The Myths From Which It Has Become Inseparable. -- Prologue: A Man Of Enterprise And Genius -- Part One. Occupation. A Seeker Of Manuscripts -- A Wide But Extended Blank -- Hell Is Not Far Away -- The Fourth Traveler -- Al-qaeda To The Rescue -- It Shall Be Mine -- Ismael's List -- Part Two. Destruction. The Armchair Explorer -- A Headless Horseman -- The Pope Of Timbuktu -- Secret Agents -- Part Three. Liberation. Lives Of The Scholars -- The Terrible Twosome -- King Leopold's Paperweight -- Auto-da-fé -- Chronicle Of The Researcher -- An Indiana Jones Moment In Real Life! -- Manuscript Fever -- The Myth Factory -- Epilogue. Charlie English. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 346-382) And Index. The thrilling account of how a band of Malian librarians and archivists risked their lives to save priceless ancient manuscripts from destruction in al Qaeda–occupied Timbuktu, interwoven with the historical race to "discover" the much-mythologized city. To Westerners, the name "Timbuktu" long conjured up a tantalizing paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves were rumored to wear gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for "discovery" tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But expedition after expedition went disastrously awry, succumbing to enslavement, attack, and disease, the natural hazards of the territory exacerbated by centuries of Christian-Muslim conflict and resistance to the European "Scramble for Africa." Timbuktu was rich—really rich—in another way too. An ancient center of learning, it was home to some tens of thousands—according to some, hundreds of... The story of how a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts into hiding when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines a fraught and fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable. -- from dust jacket Prologue: a man of enterprise and genius Occupation A seeker of manuscripts A wide extended blank Hell is not far away The fourth traveller Al-Qaeda to the rescue It shall be mine Ismael's list Destruction The armchair explorer A headless horseman The pope of Timbuktu Secret agents Liberation Lives of the scholars The terrible twosome King Leopold's paperweight Auto-da-fé Chronicle of the seeker An Indiana Jones moment in real life! Manuscript fever The myth factory Epilogue.