And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts

Excellent reading. The book reads like a thriller and is about efforts to save medieval manuscripts from being destroyed by fundamental Islamic groups. I bought two copies so I could share it with others.

This is like the back side of history, remarkable heroism quietly going on while the headlines are elsewhere. We think we value knowledge and education. How many would risk their lives to preserve it?

This book was very informative but moved very fast. I learned a lot and the book gave me great insight into Timbuktu. I enjoyed reading this book. I had no idea about the enduring treasures and the turbulent history.

History and adventure time together the literary past with present day conflict in Mali. This work by Joshua Hammer is informative and compelling. The reader sees how a community lead by one man works together to save history.

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is simply extraordinary on multiple levels. First, it's a fast-paced adventure and suspense tale straight out of the headlines: protecting thought, knowledge, and expression against the depredations of murderous jihadi occupiers. Second, it opens the door to a new world few Westerners know: the culture of Mali and its rich history of education and literature. Third, Hammer deftly weaves together the threads of the tale, balancing the story of one man with a thousand years of historical background and the courageous efforts of ordinary Malians to live with dignity despite the madness of jihadi rule. He knows his material. The result is a page turner as riveting as any work of fiction.

The legends of Timbuktu have always intrigued me and this book not only filled in the gaps in my education but it also introduced me to a different form of Islam. It shows a gentle form of Islam that likes music and respects peoples differences. Anyone who wants to try to understand the world to day should read this book.

Enhanced my respect for Arab scholarship, and for all libraries. Gave me a better understanding of Islamist terrorist leaders, left indelible, moving images of heroic manuscript collection and preservation, and heroism.Betty Clark

Keeping the names straight was the hardest part of reading this. I kept wondering why we here in the west had heard so little about these events. The committment of these people to preserving their heritage against horrific conditions is truly heroic.

An amazing story. Well written and researched. The fact that it has a happy ending with the salvation of those precious manuscripts from Timbuktu restores ones confidence in the human spirit. It is too terrible to contemplate what fate would have befallen them if they had not been removed to safety. The destruction of such precious works would make humanity in general all the poorer. I cannot but admire the intelligence and courage of the librarian Kader Haidara, and his single mindedness in saving a precious part of the worlds heritage.
The only small gripe I have is that too much of the book was taken up with the political aspects of the area. I for one got somewhat confused with all the various factions striving for control of North Africa in general. That said I would highly recommend this wonderful book.

A masterful piece of reporting by a first-class journalist — couldn't put it down. It shifts back and forth effortlessly between the history of Timbuktu and its rich tradition of scholarship (about which I knew almost nothing), the recent heroic effort to save its precious manuscripts from the regional Al Qaeda affiliate, character sketches of the leading players, and Mr. Hammer's first-person experiences as he investigates the story. It had particular resonance for me because although I never got to Mali, I did, many years ago, travel overland in a beat-up Peugeot through the Sahara and neighboring parts of the Sahel, so the scenes he describes evoke vivid memories. Even without those, though, it's a fascinating book which couldn't have been easy to research, since in that part of the world information seems elusive and hard facts are rare.

This is excellently written, excellently researched and a must read for anyone wanting to understand what some individuals are going through around the world to help save and preserve our precious antiquities. I highly recommend this book. I also hope someone makes it into a miniseries on PBS.

What an amazing history lesson rolled into a story about saving manuscripts. I had to keep a map of Northern Africa handy as the Mali map inside the book was inadequate. I'd love to have a flow chart or linear chart to keep track of the timeline and key characters, but it's manageable without. The author writes in a circular form but it's pretty much the only way to present such cumulative history. You will learn much about the radical Islamist movement both throughout history and to present day. Do read the epilogue and acknowledgements for even further knowledge. I'd love to see some of the preserved texts.

Yes, I lived through this period, and remember the conflicts. S reported on the nightly news, but I never imagined the extent of the culture and written history stored in Timbuktu. Although I was sometimes bogged down by familial names and relationships, the author gave all the details needed to understand the complexities of the times and events. I now have a better comprehension of Mali and jihadists. Kudos.

Too often, discussions of Northern Africa stay strictly within the category of Islamist terrorism, and one has no sense of the regular lives of ordinary people, no sense of their history.
Hammer describes the terrorism, yes, and disentangles the dark alliances of jihadist bands, laying them bare for us to better understand.
But at the same time, through the story of the manuscripts, Hammer lets us peek into the rich history of the region, and gives us a sense of the life of the mind of these people.
The story of the heist to save the manuscripts is the story of a daring, resourceful, self-made scholar, a story that runs counter to the normal narrative of suffering and helplessness that the West usually gets of these people. It isn't just markets and mosques and endless lines of refugees driven out of villages. It is poetry and art and thought, and the effort to preserve a heritage.

You want to like this since preserving any scholarship is a worthy effort.
But...
Those who are hoping to preserve it are only by degrees separated in their superstitions from those who wish to destroy it; I cheer for one but wonder why the other doesn't remove themselves from the superstition entirely.
And the recount of the 'wealthy rockers saving the world in 3 chords' is presented as some sort of positive other than a PR statement (and tax write-off). Yep, I'll have my private jet fly there and all will be fine!
The librarians (who obviously have access to western grants) should have digitized the lot long before their slightly-less accommodating co-believers got there.

You want to like this since preserving any scholarship is a worthy effort.
But...
Those who are hoping to preserve it are only by degrees separated in their superstitions from those who wish to destroy it; I cheer for one but wonder why the other doesn't remove themselves from the superstition entirely.
And the recount of the 'wealthy rockers saving the world in 3 chords' is presented as some sort of positive other than a PR statement (and tax write-off). Yep, I'll have my private jet fly there and all will be fine!
The librarians (who obviously have access to western grants) should have digitized the lot long before their slightly-less accommodating co-believers got there.

As a special collections manager in an academic library I was very disappointed in the focus of this book. Far too much ink spilled on the minutiae of war while the details of book preservation and descriptions of the rare books were glossed over. Poorly written and disappointing!