The name "Timbuktu" has long evoked mystery and wonder: a remote African city of camels and gold. For librarian and archivist Abdel Kader Haidara, Timbuktu's treasure exists in a different form: an astounding collection of ancient Islamic manuscripts, including scientific treatises and romantic poetry, representing "five hundred years of human joy." When Islamic militants took over Timbuktu in 2012 and threatened to destroy the "subversive" manuscripts, Haidara and his colleagues staged a daring rescue operation. Journalist Joshua Hammer chronicles the parallel stories of Haidara's career and Mali's political unrest in his fourth book, the wonderfully titled The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu.
Hammer (Yokohama Burning) begins his narrative with Haidara, the son of a well-known teacher and scholar. Mohammed "Mamma" Haidara instilled in his son a deep respect for learning and for the family's library of illuminated manuscripts. Abdel Kader Haidara spent his early career traveling throughout Mali, visiting village chiefs and families who kept their treasured volumes in steamer trunks and secret storage rooms. Over time, Haidara secured funding from several international foundations to build libraries and conservation centers in Timbuktu, where he and his colleagues (including his nephew and right-hand man, Mohammed Touré) were able to collect, catalogue and restore thousands of manuscripts. But when warring groups of militants, including Tuareg tribesmen and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) began fighting for control of Timbuktu, Haidara feared for the safety of both his family and his libraries.
Mali's recent political history is complicated, and Hammer does his best to give a clear explanation, focusing on several key leaders: the Tuareg musician-turned-fundamentalist Iyad Ag Ghali; the one-eyed jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar; the ruthless Abdelhamid Abou Zeid. The military context is important, but the details of various campaigns sometimes drag. Hammer describes several incidents in which Western tourists were kidnapped, and interviews French and American diplomats and military officials to round out his account. But his focus is on Haidara's mission, and the narrative comes to life when Hammer draws attention to the manuscripts' rescue.
The salvage operation--as precarious and fraught with obstacles as any Hollywood heist--involved moving more than 350,000 manuscripts hundreds of miles downriver to Bamako, Mali's capital. The end of the story is bittersweet: the rescue effort was successful, but the continuing instability in Mali leaves Haidara unsure when he will be able to return the manuscripts to their home.
Both a moving story of quiet heroism and a fascinating glimpse into a country little-known in the U.S., The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu will appeal to historians, bibliophiles and those who love a good heist narrative. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: When warring militant groups take control of Timbuktu, a band of librarians stages a daring operation to rescue thousands of ancient Islamic manuscripts.