Book Review #27: "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts," by Joshua Hammer. This book is hot off the press, just released today April 19, 2016. To read an excerpt from this book CLICK HERE, and for those of you who would like to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book is about one man's courage in saving a giant piece of history among the violence of Islamic terrorists. This one man hero Abdel Kader Haidera with help from others pulled off an extremely dangerous heist right under the noses of the terrorists occupying their city of Timbuktu, Mali. 

     Overall I rated this book four and a half stars out of five. What made this book extremely good was that this whole heist that was pulled off is a true story. And it is one that certainly needs to be told. I am very happy that Joshua Hammer brought this story to the forefront for the world to read. For all of the book lovers out there like me, this is a must read. It is a story of a book lover's dream come true.  It discusses the thousands of manuscripts/books filled with gold and ancient calligraphy. Can you imagine coming across a treasure like this? Abdel Kader Haidera is just like any of us, he fell in love with these manuscripts and risked his life to save them. This book shows the importance of history, and of preserving it. For if these manuscripts were to be destroyed that is like destroying hundreds of years of history, as if the past had never happened. I said earlier that this story is one that needs to be told. Why? Because it brings forth a story of Islam, in showing how it is supposed to be, in how it is and can be a peaceful religion. To show the world that there are good people and not everyone who practises Islam is a terrorist. There are and always have been terrorists in every religion, and there are plenty of bad people. But a group of people does not speak and should never speak for the whole population, in any case whether it be religion, race, gender, sexuality, or political affiliation. We need to infiltrate the world with stories like this. This is how we change perception. This book shows the power that books, and reading holds. So while you are reading this sit back and imagine yourself reading one of the manuscripts described in this book. 

     I would like to thank Netgalley, Joshua Hammer, and Simon and Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill