Timbuktu: A Ladybird Expert Book

Nov 7, 2024 8:09 PM

Author:Gus Caseley-Hayford

Part of the ALL-NEW Ladybird Expert series.

Learn about Timbuktu, in this clear and authoritative introduction to the place considered to be one of the most important trading cities of the medieval world.

Written by curator and cultural historian Gus Casely-Hayford, this book delves into the rise of the largest empire in West Africa and what made Timbuktu the most significant Saharan desert-port of the age.

You'll encounter the Mali Empire in its golden age, teeming with riches, scholars and trades. Its history steeped in magicians, epic wars, story-tellers and missing ships. You'll learn what made Timbuktu so notorious and irresistible to Europe, and why centuries later it still enchants the Western World with its beauty, wealth, mystery, intellectual excellence and legacy.

Inside you'll discover . . .

- The significance of The River Niger

- The great advantages of the introduction of camels

- The birth of Mali

- The connections between Islam and the Mali Empire

- How the libraries give vivid access to the medieval African perspective

- And much more . . .

Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture.

For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

Reviews

The artwork is gloriously retro, echoing the original Ladybird house style but containing completely up to date information.

—— Shiny New Books

Excellent ... Ian Black brings a fresh perspective to one of the most closely studied conflicts on Earth, unpacking its complexities with clarity and candour

—— Anshel Pfeffer , Observer

Comprehensive and compelling ... A nuanced, landmark study that has deservedly won plaudits from both Palestinian and Israeli historians

—— Justin Marozzi , The Times

Compelling ... Merits close reading for its rich detail and rare subtlety ... Denies made-up minds their soothing certainties ... A reading of uncommon clarity, informed by extensive research and keen insight

—— Stephen Daisley , Spectator

[A] wonderful new history of Palestine and Israel ... For its clarity and balance, Black's work stands tall in a field that is likely to continue growing

—— Economist

A good read..... sharp, fast paragraphs filled with vivid detail...keeps a tight focus on events on the ground. Punctures the view...that Palestinians bear virtually all the blame for the failure of recent efforts to create a Palestinian state

—— Peter Beinart, 'Editor's Choice' , New York Times

A remarkable book that combines sharp insight with absolute impartiality on one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts. Black captures the voices of the Palestinians and Israelis with equal compassion, and holds their leaders to account with equal severity. An outstanding accomplishment

—— Eugene Rogan, author of 'The Arabs: A History'

Superbly researched and highly readable. Even those who are well read on the subject will find new insights that had escaped them

—— Raja Shehadeh, author of 'Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape'

When Israeli and Palestinian historians eventually sit down together to compose a single narrative to replace their bitterly conflicting histories, they will find that Ian Black's book has already done it for them. This brilliant, dispassionate work leaves us, curiously, optimistic - for he shows us that there is a middle ground

—— Meron Benvenisti, author of 'Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948'

In its fine balance of historical sweep and telling detail, in its sharp analysis of social, economic, and political forces, and in its exceptional fairness to all sides, Ian Black's thorough and incisive history of the struggle between Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel is the book every student of this conflict should read first. A remarkable achievement

—— Nathan Thrall, author of 'The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine'

In a field where one has gotten used to one-sided 'narratives', it is refreshing to come across a historical account that simply lays down the facts, gory and tragic as these may be. This book is a must-read for those who, still entertaining hope for a sane exit from the conflict, need to be shocked out of their stupor

—— Sari Nusseibeh, author of 'Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life'

The hundred years' war for Palestine has produced numerous books; Ian Black has written one of the finest. Enemies and Neighbours displays an admirable ability to present this enormously complicated and tragic conflict in a lucid and riveting style - and pays unusually close attention to how both sides - Arabs and Jews - have seen it at different periods

—— Tom Segev, author of 'One Palestine, Complete – Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate'

Ian Black draws on decades of experience as a journalist in Palestine and Israel to offer a nuanced and thorough account of the century-old conflict over Palestine. A readable and fair assessment of why this conflict has continued unabated for so long

—— Rashid Khalidi, author of 'Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East'

This detailed and objective account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 1917 onwards catalogues in the most enlightening way the appalling violence and hatred that lies at the heart of today's dangerous stalemate in the peace process

—— Jeremy Greenstock, former British Ambassador to the United Nations

A tremendous amount of research has gone into Enemies and Neighbors; the writing is straightforward, fast-paced and lucid; and it pulled me right to the end, despite the heavy nature of its topic. An excellent read that offers a true portrayal of the situation

—— Fida Jiryis, Palestinian writer, contributor to 'Kingdom of Olives and Ash'

Mark imparts knowledge about Christmas traditions from the essential to the (very) abstruse in wry and sardonic style. An effortless and enjoyable way to learn more about this fulcrum of our calendar

—— Paul Smiddy, Former Head of pan-European retail research, HSBC, on 'A Christmas Cornucopia'

With his casual elegance and melodious voice, Mark Forsyth has an anachronistic charm totally at odds with the 21st century

—— Sunday Times South Africa on'The Horologicon'

[The Etymologicon is] a perfect bit of stocking filler for the bookish member of the family, or just a cracking all-year-round-read. Highly recommended

—— The Spectator

A treat for the connoisseur who enjoys a robust anecdote from the past with his drink

—— Sumit Chakrabarti , The Telegraph, India

As good as promised - could have been thrice as long

—— Ben Schott, on 'The Elements of Eloquence'

Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant

—— Raymond Briggs on 'A Christmas Cornucopia'

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