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  • Published: 2 April 2018
  • ISBN: 9781405934916
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 56

Timbuktu: A Ladybird Expert Book

The secrets of the fabled but lost African city




An accessible, authoritative and entertaining introduction to Timbuktu for adult readers

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Timbuktu is a clear, simple and authoritative introduction to the land once considered one of the most important trading cities of the medieval world.

Written by curator and cultural historian Gus Caseley-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 see the Mali Empire in its golden age, teeming with riches, scholars and trade. A history steeped in magicians, epic wars, story-tellers and missing ships. You'll learn what made Timbuktu so notorious and irresistible to the Emperor, and why centuries later it still enchants the Western World with its beauty, wealth, mystery, intellectual excellence and legacy.

  • Published: 2 April 2018
  • ISBN: 9781405934916
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 56

About the author

Gus Casely-Hayford

Gus Casely-Hayford is a Curator and cultural historian and has previously held the post of Executive Director, Arts Strategy, for the Arts Council England. He has directed and produced arts programmes for the BBC and Channel 4 and is a member of Tate Britain's Council and a Clore Fellow. Gus has lectured at the Royal College of Art, Sotheby's Institute of Art and Goldsmiths College. He gained a PhD in African History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.

Praise for Timbuktu: A Ladybird Expert Book

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

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