Bibliograph

The storied city, the quest for Timbuktu and the fantastic mission to save its past, Charlie English

Type

Label

The storied city, the quest for Timbuktu and the fantastic mission to save its past, Charlie English

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

illustrationsplatesmaps

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The storied city

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

956479952

Responsibility statement

Charlie English

Sub title

the quest for Timbuktu and the fantastic mission to save its past

Summary

The story of how a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts into hiding when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents. Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines a fraught and fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable. --, from dust jacket

Table Of Contents

Prolog: Enterprise and genius -- Occupation -- A seeker of manuscripts -- A wide but extended blank -- Hell is not far away -- The fourth traveler -- Al-Qaeda to the rescue -- Frogs and rosbifs -- Ismael's list -- Destruction -- The armchair explorer -- The headless horseman -- The pope of Timbuktu -- Secret agents -- Liberation -- Lives of the scholars -- The terrible twosome -- King Leopold's paperweight -- Auto-da-fé -- Chronicle of the seeker -- An Indiana Jones moment in real life! -- Manuscript fever -- The myth factory -- Epilog

Classification