I remember reading the news articles and so on at the time, chronicling the potential fate of the Timbuktu manuscripts, and was beyond pleased that the vast majority had escaped destruction. It would have been an incalculable loss, and English here delves into the story behind the saving. It's intercut with history, with alternate chapters describing the attempts of various European explorers to reach the place (often dying horribly in the attempt) but I have to say I found the modern parts more compelling. Most interesting here is the look at the mythologizing of a city (and of a movement) - what it says about the people doing the mythologizing, what it says about the people accepting it. Even if one takes the most conservative, most sceptical opinion, however, it's undeniable that some very heroic people stood up in different ways for books, and for that we can all be grateful.