The long overlooked, centuries-long, culture of the book in West Africa
Printed books did not reach West Africa until the early twentieth century. And yet, between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries, literate and curious readers throughout the region found books to read-books that were written and copied by hand. In Writing Timbuktu, Shamil Jeppie offers a history of the book as a handwritten, handmade object in West Africa. Centering his account in the historic city of Timbuktu, Jeppie explores the culture of the "manuscript-book"-unbound pages, often held together by carefully crafted leather covers. He describes the most important and most prolific scholars and their works, the subjects they covered, and ways these books were circulated, collected, and preserved.
The authors of the manuscript-books wrote to demonstrate their knowledge to their peers, expound theological and legal opinions, and engage in scholarly disputation. After beginning his account in Timbuktu, Jeppie traces the literary connections among places as distant as Marrakesh in the north and Sokoto in the south, and smaller settlements in between. He chronicles the work of Ahmad Baba in late sixteenth-century Timbuktu and his students in early seventeenth-century Marrakesh; the emergence of writers in the eighteenth century in what today is Mauritania; the writings of the scholar-rulers of Sokoto, northern Nigeria, in the nineteenth century; and the eventual discovery of the manuscript-book world of West Africa by European travelers and French colonial officials. Finally, Jeppie finds that the handwritten text persisted even after the advent of the printed book, and even among writers whose books were in print, including the famous Malian novelist Amadou Hampâté Bâ. Shamil Jeppie is associate professor of history at the University of Cape Town, where he founded the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project. He is the coeditor of The Meanings of Timbuktu. He is on the Advisory Board of the research center Understanding Written Artefacts at the University of Hamburg. "Writing Timbuktu is an impeccably researched and imaginatively written chapter of the history of the written word: an essential book for our time."-Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading and The Library at Night
"Jeppie takes us behind the myths surrounding Timbuktu to reveal the rich culture of learning and writing that extended across more than five centuries and the vast area of the Sahara-Sahel. The manuscript book is the thread we follow through the lives of writers, teachers, and collectors as they navigated the crises of their times. This account, both expert and accessible, offers a wonderful entry into the book culture of West Africa."-Ann Blair, author of Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age
"Writing Timbuktu is a captivating masterpiece that conclusively puts West Africa onto the map of global book history. Shamil Jeppie skillfully intertwines the journey of books with the stories of their owners and users, creating a fascinating narrative of local engagements and transregional networks. This book is a rare gem, a must-read that is also a page-turner."-Konrad Hirschler, author of The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands: A Social and Cultural History of Reading Practices
"Shamil Jeppie takes his readers on a journey to discover a vibrant and persistent manuscript book culture in northwest Africa. From the prolific scholar Ahmad Baba (d. 1627) and his students to the copyist and collector Ahmad Bularraf (d. 1945), both active in Timbuktu, he passes in review scholarly families and individuals, such as the Kunta of Shinqit, their networks and libraries, and their clashes and connections with local rulers and colonial officials over five centuries, anchoring the region firmly within the global history of the book."-Beatrice Gruendler, author of The Rise of the Arabic Book "Revelatory. . . . An
