Timbuktu was a center of learning, knowledge, culture, and trade as far back as the 1100's. This book is about a man who collected the books that had been scattered across the area and brought them into one place for restoration and safe-keeping. Unfortunately, when the jihadists took over the area, they were determined to destroy anything they did not see as "true Islam": music, art, secular books (anything but the Koran), etc. This man was able to rescue almost all the books from their hands and move them to Bamako for safe keeping.
This is more than a story about the books, though. It is also a story of the spread of a very militant Islam. This book may contain triggers for those who have lived in this region of West Africa and have seen the effects of jihadism.
The author has done a lot of research. He also tells the story well. I highly recommend this book to anybody who loves history, who loves books or libraries, or who loves West Africa and especially the Sahel region.