‘An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history and travel’ Observer, Books of the Year‘A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication and ingenuity… [written with] exceptional delicacy and restraint’ TLSTwo tales of a city: The historical race to reach one of the world’s most mythologized places, and the story of how a contemporary band of archivists and librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend.‘An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history and travel’ Observer, Books of the Year‘A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication and ingenuity… [written with] exceptional delicacy and restraint’ TLSThe fabled city of Timbuktu has captured the Western imagination for centuries. The search for this ‘African El Dorado’ cost the lives of many explorers but Timbuktu is rich beyond its legends. Home to many thousands of ancient manuscripts on poetry, history, religion, law, pharmacology and astronomy, the city has been a centre of learning since medieval times.When jihadists invaded Mali in 2012 threatening destruction to Timbuktu’s libraries, a remarkable thing happened. A team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit the precious manuscripts into hiding. Based on new research and first-hand reporting, Charlie English expertly tells this story set in one of the world’s most fascinating places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable.Two tales of a city: The historical race to reach one of the world’s most mythologized places, and the story of how a contemporary band of archivists and librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend.To Westerners, the name ‘Timbuktu’ long conjured a tantalising paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves wore gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for discovery tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But one expedition after another went disastrously awry, succumbing to attack, climate, and disease.Timbuktu was rich in another way too. A medieval centre of learning, it was home to tens – according to some, hundreds – of thousands of ancient manuscripts, on subjects ranging from religion to poetry, law to history, pharmacology, and astronomy. When al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents, a remarkable thing happened: a team of librarians and archivists joined forces to spirit the manuscripts into hiding.Relying on extensive research and firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines these two suspenseful strands into a fascinating account of one of the planet's extraordinary places, and the myths from which it has become inseparable.‘An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history and travel’ William Dalrymple, Observer, Books of the Year‘This spellbinding record of Timbuktu’s intellectual heritage blends accounts of European explorers to the ancient city with contemporary reportage’ New Yorker‘A work of intellectual honesty that represents narrative non-fiction at its most satisfying and engaging’ William Dalrymple, Guardian‘A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication and ingenuity… [written with] exceptional delicacy and restraint’ TLS‘Part reportage, part history, part romance and wholly gripping… a riveting read’ Sunday Times‘A fascinating account of Timbuktu’s history and the brave and crazy adventurers who sought death and glory trying to get there’ The Times‘Gripping … written with journalistic verve’ Sunday Telegraph‘A rewarding account … after reading it I felt I knew more, cared more and wanted to know more’ Scotland on Sunday‘Running alongside Mr English’s lively telling of the quest for Timbuktu is a thrilling account of a more recent story: the daring evacuation of hundred of thousands of Timbuktu’s manuscripts by its librarians during the jihadist occupation in 2012… The two stories illuminate each other, but somewhat obliquely. It is nonetheless a brilliant device’ Economist‘As Timbuktu remains off limits for tourists, this account is all the more intriguing’ Financial TimesCharlie English is the former head of international news at the Guardian. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and author of a previous book, The Snow Tourist, he first journey to African at nineteen, and has travelled widely there and elsewhere around the globe. He lives in London.- This story, which Charlie covered as it unfolded, was the subject of an article he wrote for The Guardian Saturday magazine earlier this year.- Lost City of Z (10k) /Justin Marrozzi (22k) with contemporary slant. See also Bookseller of Kabul (523k); In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz (43k); The Invention of Nature (23k); Monuments Men (35k)- Redresses the myth the West has traditionally pushed this notion that African history is somehow primitive and less important being largely oral. The sophistication and extent of the archives in Timbuktu provide a ringing contradiction to this rather racist notion – and promise immense riches to researchers.
Pubblicato da: HarperCollins Publishers