Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. contents ix
3. list of illustrations xi
4. acknowledgments xiii
5. note on transliteration xvii
6. key dates xix
7. list of authors discussed xxiii
8. titles of key manuscripts mentioned xxv
9. glossary xxix
10. Introduction 1
11. 1 Discovering Books in the Desert 27
12. 2 The Education of Ahmad Baba, 1556–91 49
13. 3 Exile in Marrakesh 65
14. 4 Ahmad Baba’s Later Years in Timbuktu, 1608–27 85
15. 5 The Rise of Shinqit 98
16. 6 The Kunta Writers 114
17. 7 The Collector of Timbuktu 137
18. 8 Manuscript, Print, and Memory 155
19. Epilogue 175
20. Notes 179
21. Bibliography 195
22. Index 205