The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
Author:
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
2016
Language:
English
Description
**New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice**
To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven in this "fast-paced narrative that is...part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller" (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief.
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 were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door.
"Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey...Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise" (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist "has all the elements of a classic adventure novel" (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.
To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven in this "fast-paced narrative that is...part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller" (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief.
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 were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door.
"Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey...Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise" (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist "has all the elements of a classic adventure novel" (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.
More Details
ISBN:
9781681681436
9781476777436
9781476777436
Staff View
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 071920b8-4ae7-d524-3292-b9986256ca8b |
---|---|
Grouping Title | bad ass librarians of timbuktu and their race to save the worlds most precious manuscripts |
Grouping Author | joshua hammer |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-03-28 04:05:51AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-03-28 04:32:14AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Hammer, Joshua
author_display
Hammer, Joshua
available_at_aacpl
Online OverDrive Collection
detailed_location_aacpl
Online OverDrive Collection
display_description
**New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice**
To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven in this "fast-paced narrative that is...part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller" (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief.
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 were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door.
"Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey...Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise" (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist "has all the elements of a classic adventure novel" (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.
To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven in this "fast-paced narrative that is...part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller" (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief.
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 were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door.
"Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey...Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise" (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist "has all the elements of a classic adventure novel" (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.
format_aacpl
eAudiobook
eBook
eBook
format_category_aacpl
Audio Books
eBook
eBook
id
071920b8-4ae7-d524-3292-b9986256ca8b
isbn
9781476777436
9781681681436
9781681681436
last_indexed
2024-03-28T08:32:14.488Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_aacpl
Online OverDrive
owning_library_aacpl
Anne Arundel County Public Library Online
owning_location_aacpl
Online OverDrive Collection
primary_isbn
9781681681436
publishDate
2016
publisher
HighBridge
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
recordtype
grouped_work
title_display
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
title_full
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
title_short
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu
title_sub
And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
topic_facet
History
Military
Nonfiction
Military
Nonfiction
Solr Details Tables
item_details
Bib Id | Item Id | Shelf Loc | Call Num | Format | Format Category | Num Copies | Is Order Item | Is eContent | eContent Source | eContent URL | Detailed Status | Last Checkin | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrive:5cb045b7-5c25-40c5-b0e7-da8514b36d91 | -1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 6 | false | true | OverDrive | Available Online | |||
overdrive:5cb045b7-5c25-40c5-b0e7-da8514b36d91 | 1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 0 | false | true | OverDrive | Available Online | |||
overdrive:5f63aeb0-2d09-439d-9c52-c1d8af052fcb | 1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | OverDrive | Available Online | |||
overdrive:5f63aeb0-2d09-439d-9c52-c1d8af052fcb | -1 | Online OverDrive Collection | Online OverDrive | eBook | eBook | 0 | false | true | OverDrive | Checked Out |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrive:5cb045b7-5c25-40c5-b0e7-da8514b36d91 | eAudiobook | Audio Books | English | HighBridge | 2016 | |||
overdrive:5f63aeb0-2d09-439d-9c52-c1d8af052fcb | eBook | eBook | English | Simon & Schuster | 2016 |
scoping_details_aacpl
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrive:5cb045b7-5c25-40c5-b0e7-da8514b36d91 | -1 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | true | false | false | false | |||
overdrive:5cb045b7-5c25-40c5-b0e7-da8514b36d91 | 1 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | true | false | false | true | |||
overdrive:5f63aeb0-2d09-439d-9c52-c1d8af052fcb | 1 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | true | false | false | true | |||
overdrive:5f63aeb0-2d09-439d-9c52-c1d8af052fcb | -1 | Checked Out | Checked Out | false | false | true | false | false | false |