Review for the Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manu

Hello Everyone!

This is a spoiler free review for a book provided by Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Mocking him for his youth and his inexperience and less exalted position of his family in Timbuktu’s social hierarchy, ‘You have the nerve to talk to me about the manuscripts?’”

I wasn’t expecting this book to be a work of non-fiction that I would be interested in when it popped up on my Netgalley feed, but the title drew me in immediately. As a veteran correspondent, author Joshua Hammer goes in depth in this non-fiction tale of Abdel Kader Haidara. Reluctant to take over the caretaker position after he inherited a selection of his family’s precious Islamic manuscripts, Haidara soon turns into one of the most efficient and trustworthy proponent and collector of Islamic Manuscripts. Haidara’s story to collect generations of hidden manuscripts, more valuable than gold during this century in Northern Africa, leads him into various hidden libraries and archives while also allowing him to converse and befriend the trust of centuries of families who hold the manuscripts dear. Woven into a history lesson on the early literary and educational hubbub that is Timbuktu, Hammer provides an intriguing look into the historical significance of Islamic literature, and the importance of general literature to the world’s cultures and ancestors while also describing the lengths that Haidara had to go to in order to keep thousands of precious manuscripts safe against the likes of Al Qaeda and fundamentalistic Islamic movements. While this book is best taken in in pieces, as the older history background is rather difficult to wade through, Haidara’s story is what I found most interesting. His mission to reveal what the ancient Islamic texts actually said about different ethnicities and people groups is absolutely fascinating and, if you think that you will get easily bogged down in the background that Hammer has provided, I would highly suggest skimming through the work to get Haidara’s story or even using the book as a tipping off point to do your own research on Haidara and his efforts. As someone his is an English and History nerd, this is an intriguing read and if my input doesn’t encourage you enough, this work was the base of a recent discussion by the ALA, so you can be sure that this is a book worth the read. While I don’t believe that this novel is going to get hyped, it will go in my bank of recommendations for any History, English or Literary educator or enthusiast looking for an insightful read.

Overall:

3 stars out of 5

-Jaime

#educational #springreviews2016 #NonFiction #3stars #ARC #Netgalley