so-soFinished this today and for the most post I enjoyed it. There were a few slow parts but I enjoyed reading about his travels to the most remote places on Earth.
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so-soFinished this today and for the most post I enjoyed it. There were a few slow parts but I enjoyed reading about his travels to the most remote places on Earth.
so-soI fear journalists feel a necessity to focus on the facts that will sell best, and this book suffered for that approach. I wanted more on the manuscripts, their rediscovery, preservation, digitization and housing, their content and significance to the culture/history, rather than the conflict that briefly, if dramatically, threatened them (some destruction). I wish one of the librarians had written it, or Skip Gates. Sad books are not yet home.
Something about the way this is phrased rubs me the wrong way, like the author's pointing out a flaw of a particular region, when Europe and US have both had periods in history of 'religious purification' (witch trials, spanish Inquisition), 'anti-intellectualism' (book burning, and I would argue McCarthy era) and barbarism (middle ages, colonialist enslavement and confinement of indigenous peoples).
Ignite?! 😬🔥Talk about growing pains in digitization! Suppose they did chemistry calculations beforehand, or only figured it out after a scanned manuscript was suddenly on fire?!
Upcoming reads: Non-fiction about libraries and librarians. 📚♥️
Just starting the book for my Tuesday book club. Why do I procrastinate all the time!
International Journey Through Pages Book Club: https://meetu.ps/e/Lf5Mm/zxXbQ/i
pickVery information about protecting and preserving ancient manuscripts in Mali during the occupation by Al-Queda. It gives a lot if background about Al-Queda forces in Northern Africa as well.
#booked2022 #writtenbyjournalist @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft #readingafrica2022 #mali @Librarybelle #pantone2022colorchallenge @Clwojick
pickIn the 1980s, a man in #Mali started to collect ancient manuscripts in order to protect them. Then, in 2012, jihadists stormed Timbuktu, threatening those manuscripts (among other things), so a group of librarians worked to smuggle them out at great personal risk. As others have mentioned, there‘s not enough here about the manuscripts and a bit too much about the political situation, but it‘s a fun story.
#ReadingAfrica2022
