This publication offers an account of the unfolding of political and civilian conflict in Mali and the efforts to contain it, and an analysis of which efforts to restore peace were effective and why. It also examines the role of the international community, especially the United Nations, in helping the Malian Government to restore peace and to re-integrate its disaffected populations and refugees back into civilian life.--Publisher's description.

Meet Mr. Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's remarkable new novel, Timbuktu. Mr. Bones is the sidekick and confidant of Willy G. Christmas, the brilliant, troubled, and altogether original poet-saint from Brooklyn. Like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza before them, they sally forth on a last great adventure, heading for Baltimore, Maryland in search of Willy's high school teacher, Bea Swanson. Years have passed since Willy last saw his beloved mentor, who knew him in his previous incarnation as William Gurevitch, the son of Polish war refugees. But is Mrs. Swanson still alive? And if she isn't, what will prevent Willy from vanishing into that other world known as Timbuktu? Mr. Bones is our witness. Although he walks on four legs and cannot speak, he can think, and out of his thoughts Auster has spun one of the richest, most compelling tales in recent American fiction. By turns comic, poignant, and tragic, Timbuktu is above all a love story. Written with a scintillating verbal energy, it takes us into the heart of a singularly pure and passionate character, an unforgettable dog who has much to teach us about our own humanity.

Stalked by crocodiles, charged by hippos, attacked by African killer bees, Mark Jenkins tells of the first descent of the Niger River in West Africa. In 1991 author Mark Jenkins, along with three companions and an intuitive African guide, set out to find the lost source of the Niger. Smuggling in weapons for protection, the team crossed into war-torn Sierra Leone, found the fountainhead, dropped in their kayaks and set off. During their journey they passed through villages where every female child has had a clitoridectomy; stumbled upon a brotherhood of blind men living alone in the bush and danced by firelight with a hundred women. And yet To Timbuktu is far more than an adventure book, it is a story about the meaning of friendship, fear, struggle, loss and tragically, death. Interweaving the tales of his own journey with the stories of the early explorers who tried to reach Timbuktu - men of unconquerable will, vanity and perseverance who would die beheaded, speared or eaten alive - Jenkins examines the why of adventure. Why do humans risk their lives for seemingly futile goals? To Timbuktu has the answers.

**New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice** To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven in this “fast-paced narrative that is…part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller” (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief. In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world’s patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door. “Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey…Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise” (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world’s greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist “has all the elements of a classic adventure novel” (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.

Documents the author's journeys through Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, discussing the inspiration for her travels, the women who adopted her into their ranks, and her discoveries about the region's forgotten areas and future promise.

Chris and his fellow adventurers are back from a wild, four-month stretch of world travel. Together, they climbed Mount Sinai, rode donkeys through the Valley of Kings, and partied every step of the way. The young men have become addicted to travel, and it isn't long before they are plotting their next trip this time to Timbuktu, a place of seemingly mythical proportions in the West African country of Mali. Before long, their group gets larger in number, and soon, a small army of nine is making plans to head to Africa. They don't know what to expect, but then again, they don't care. Once in Africa, they will need to navigate the desert, deal with corrupt officials, and stomach extreme images of hardship and poverty. Along the way, they find quite a bit of adventure but also quite a bit of trouble. Through it all, this group of adventure junkies finds out that the perfect place to quench their thirst for excitement is Somewhere in the Sand.

Ayisha and Ahmed know there is trouble. Something is not right with this American archaeologist and his wife. Supposedly tourists. Why are they so interested in the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu? Could they really be plotting to steal one? Well, they are more than old manuscripts to Ayisha and Ahmed-they are a rich part of their own heritage. No way are the two teens going to let this happen! They risk everything to stop them, embarking on a desperate quest that takes them across the desert, through a deadly heat, a sweeping sandstorm and fi nally to the port city of Korioume to confront and trap the wily thieves-and save a treasure of Timbuktu.

While spending thirty years overseas in the US Foreign Service, and living in eleven countries and working in many more, Ambassador Lucke accumulated many stories that would never have happened "at home." His work took him to Timbuktu (twice), to places in West Africa where kids ran away in fear at their first glimpse of a person with white skin, to the scary run up to Gulf War I in North Africa, to the jungles of Bolivia and Lake Titicaca in the Andes, the fall of Communism in the old Czechoslovakia, biblical sites of Jerusalem, the passing of King Hussein in Jordan, to interaction with a few US Presidents and many members of Congress. He was thrust into the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, deployed into the war zone of Iraq, and finally served as US Ambassador to the last absolute monarchy in Africa. His take on a thirty-year career abroad: "It was never boring."