Listen to this audiobook free with a 30-day trial. Go to http://hotaudiobook.com/free

Title: Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

Subtitle: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts

Author: Joshua Hammer

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-19-16

Publisher: HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 220 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

In 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 incredible 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.

Over the past 20 years, journalist Joshua Hammer visited Timbuktu numerous times and is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Haidara's heroic and ultimately successful effort to outwit Al Qaeda and preserve Mali's - and the world's - literary patrimony. Hammer explores the city's manuscript heritage and offers never-before-reported details about the militants' march into northwest Africa. But above all, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is an inspiring account of the victory of art and literature over extremism.

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]