To Westerners, the name "Timbuktu" long conjured a tantalizing paradise, and beginning in the 18th century, explorers tried repeatedly to reach the city. But as Charlie English relates here, most expeditions succumbed to attack, the climate, and disease. The real Timbuktu was home to thousands of ancient manuscripts, and when al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, they threatened the existence of these precious documents. Also published as The Storied City, this history chronicles how librarians and archivists joined forces to preserve Timbuktu's cultural legacy.