The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu : And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts (CD-Audio)

from Sandydog1

A 5-star thriller, but in need of a bit more editing. And, so many unsettling questions are left unanswered by the end of the epilogue. Will these books ever get scanned? That was a close call, will they ever truly get saved? The descriptions and history of the fighting and warfare were well done...

from seasidereader

This book frustrated me for the following reasons: 1. The author is a journalist and contributing editor; the publisher is high class. And yet, the book cries out for maps, illustrations, glossary, timelines, and cohesion. There are exactly two visuals, one on each endpaper. One is a map of Mali ...

from witchyrichy

This would be a great plot for an Indiana Jones movie if the stakes of losing hadn't been so high. The book provides a nakedly horific view of the jihadists and their disregard for human life and history. But I felt like there were places when the focus on allies and fighting went too far away fr...

from LynnB

I know talking about Al-Queda and the Taliban was necessary for context, but I would have liked less of that and more of the librarians and the manuscripts. To me, the the title verges on "false advertising". For much of the book, the librarians and the manuscripts they worked so hard to save are...

from DrLed

Synopsis: This is the true story of the protection of ancient African documents from Al Qaeda. Haidara begins the Mali collection by going to collectors and asking them to donate their manuscripts to the national library. He ends by saving the largest percentage from destruction. Review: The titl...