While some may describe the title of Joshua Hammer’s latest
book as sophomoric and overwrought, as a librarian (once described by a former
professor as “smart ass”) and with my background in art history specializing in
medieval manuscripts, the title of the
book had me at the get-go. I was further
intrigued by the setting: Timbuktu – that faraway, forsaken place where my mom
threatened to send me when I misbehaved. Was Timbuktu a real place?

In the modern age, Timbuktu was making a comeback as a cultural center as one man, Abdul Kader Haidera, recovered nearly 377,000 manuscripts held mostly by private families and instituted a national library to secure them. The region also held international music festivals attracting famous musicians. Through Haidera’s unique vision and with the aid of a band of librarians, these precious manuscripts were smuggled out of Timbuktu - right under the noses of the jihadists who invaded northern Africa after the Libyan defeat of Qualdafi.
While the book could have included visual illustrations, such as a
detailed map and photographs of some of the manuscripts, the cloak and dagger operation, nonetheless,
is packed full of palpable detail, also
describing the region’s struggle to rid itself of rebels, colonialists, and
extremists. For me, this journalistic
account was an eye-opener. Why did the
mainstream media not highlight the atrocities in Northern Africa? This vexing
question resonates today as we are only beginning to be told about the occurrences in neighboring Niger.
~Barb
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