Play Audiobook Sample
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(0.00) - 0 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
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 farmers. His goal was to preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door.
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, became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, he organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. This real-life thriller is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty and imagination of their culture. It is also the story of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.
Download and start listening now!
“History depends on whose stories get told and which books survive; in Timbuktu, thanks to Haidara and his associates, inquiry, humanity, and courage live on in the libraries.”
— Boston Globe
Quotes
-
“Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey of the volatile religious politics of the Maghreb region…Hammer writes with verve and expertise.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Has all the elements of a classic adventure novel…Riveting skullduggery, revealing history, and current affairs combine in a compelling narrative with a rare happy ending.”
— Seattle Times
Awards
-
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
-
A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About Joshua Hammer
Joshua Hammer is the author of the bestselling The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, as well as The Kalinka Affair, Yokohama Burning, and A Season in Bethlehem, among others. He is a contributing editor to Smithsonian and Outside, is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, and has written for publications including the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Smithsonian, Atlantic, New Yorker, and National Geographic. He was born in New York and graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in English literature. He has won numerous journalism awards.
About the Narrators
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.