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Reading and Redemption in a Town Under Siege
by Mike Thomson
The remarkable, improbable story of a small, makeshift library in the Syrian town of Darayya, and the people who found hope and humanity in its books during the four-year siege they endured.
At the height of the Syrian Civil War, deep beneath the shattered streets of rebel-held Darayya was a secret library. This basement room filled with thousands of books, rescued under constant sniper fire from gutted buildings, was an oasis of normality in a country at war with itself.
Here, despite a devastating four-year siege, people risked their lives to read. Over a period of more than a year, Mike Thomson heard their extraordinary stories via tenuous Skype calls, emails, social media messages and audio diaries recorded on their mobile phones.
Through the testaments of these clandestine readers, a portrait of a unique rebel enclave emerges, and with it, a richer understanding of their embattled country. Syria's rich literary history has been overshadowed by recent turmoil. But Darayya's hidden collection is a testament to the Syrian people's long, unbreakable pursuit of knowledge, enlightenment and beauty, even in their darkest hours.
When Darayya fell in the summer of 2016, it was the end of the secret library but not the courageous spirit of those who built it. This is a story of hope amid the despair, a glimmer of light in a country long cloaked in darkness.
"Telling an extraordinary story with consummate narrative skill, putting readers directly in the thick of the action, Thomson grabs our attention from the beginning and doesn't let go...A fantastic, timely story, beautifully told, of a civilization's refusal to die." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The stories Thomson relates, of great courage and fortitude in the service of literature and education, will move readers." - Publishers Weekly
"Mike Thomson's relationship with the people of Daraya as they were being systematically smashed to pieces has produced one of the most extraordinary stories to come out of the Syrian conflict. The assembly of a library under almost daily threat of death and destruction is appalling and, at the same time, hugely inspiring. A unique tribute to the power of books and the unquenchable human spirit." - Michael Palin, author and broadcaster
"An inspiring read-humanity at its best, overcoming adversity at the height of war with the power of love for their secret library." - David Nott, author of War Doctor
This information about Syria's Secret Library was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mike Thomson is a reporter and presenter for radio and television news. He has reported for BBC News from most of the world's most troubled and dangerous places. These have included: Syria, Somalia, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan, Darfur, DR Congo, Libya, North Sinai and the Central African Republic. He also writes regularly for several leading British newspapers including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail and The Independent. He lives in London.
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