{"product_id":"the-bad-ass-librarians-of-timbuktu-and-their-race-to-save-the-worlds-most-precious-manuscripts","title":"The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 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 had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers. In 2012, thousands of Al-Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre:\u003c\/strong\u003e Libraries, Destruction and pillage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 278\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781476777405\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hammer, Joshua","offers":[{"title":"Poor Condition — £2.15","offer_id":48015987671217,"sku":"SB-1476777403-C4","price":2.15,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/1476777403.jpg?v=1791680164","url":"https:\/\/sellbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-bad-ass-librarians-of-timbuktu-and-their-race-to-save-the-worlds-most-precious-manuscripts","provider":"Sell Books .co.uk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}