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The book collectors of Daraya : a band of Syrian rebels, their underground library, and the stories that carried them through a war / Delphine Minoui ; translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud.

In 2012 the rebel suburb of Daraya in Damascus was brutally besieged by Syrian government forces. Four years of suffering ensued, punctuated by shelling, barrel bombs and chemical gas attacks. People's homes were destroyed and their food supplies cut off; disease was rife. Yet in this man-made hell, forty young Syrian revolutionaries embarked on an extraordinary project, rescuing all the books they could find in the bombed-out ruins of their home town. They used them to create a secret library, in a safe place, deep underground. It became their school, their university, their refuge. It was a place to learn, to exchange ideas, to dream and to hope. Based on lengthy interviews with these young men, conducted over Skype by the award-winning French journalist, Delphine Minoui, The Book Collectors is a powerful testament to freedom, tolerance and the power of literature.

Item Information
Barcode Shelf Location Collection Volume Ref. Branch Status Due Date Res.
C9009189518 956.9104 MIN
Adult nonfiction   City Branch . . Available .  
C9009306681 956.9104 MIN
Adult nonfiction   Earlville Branch . . Available .  
C9009189584 956.9104 MIN
Adult nonfiction   Manunda Branch . . Available .  
C9009315931 956.9104 MIN
Adult nonfiction   Smithfield Branch . . Available .  
. Catalogue Record 1074718 ItemInfo Beginning of record . Catalogue Record 1074718 ItemInfo Top of page .
Catalogue Information
Field name Details
ISBN 9781529012323 (paperback)
Dewey 956.9104
Author Minoui, Delphine author.
Title The book collectors of Daraya : a band of Syrian rebels, their underground library, and the stories that carried them through a war / Delphine Minoui ; translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud.
Published London : Picador, 2020.
Physical description 196 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm.
General note "Originally published in French in 2018 by Éditions du Seuil, France, as 'Les passeurs de livres de Daraya.'"
Summary In 2012 the rebel suburb of Daraya in Damascus was brutally besieged by Syrian government forces. Four years of suffering ensued, punctuated by shelling, barrel bombs and chemical gas attacks. People's homes were destroyed and their food supplies cut off; disease was rife. Yet in this man-made hell, forty young Syrian revolutionaries embarked on an extraordinary project, rescuing all the books they could find in the bombed-out ruins of their home town. They used them to create a secret library, in a safe place, deep underground. It became their school, their university, their refuge. It was a place to learn, to exchange ideas, to dream and to hope. Based on lengthy interviews with these young men, conducted over Skype by the award-winning French journalist, Delphine Minoui, The Book Collectors is a powerful testament to freedom, tolerance and the power of literature.
Subject Intellectual life
Manners and customs
Books and reading -- Syria -- Dārayyā
Libraries and society -- Syria -- Dārayyā
Libraries -- Social aspects -- Syria -- Dārayyā
Syria -- Dārayyā
Dārayyā (Syria) -- Intellectual life -- 21st century
Dārayyā (Syria) -- Social life and customs
Syria -- History -- Civil War, 2011-
Additional author Vergnaud, Lara translator.
Catalogue Information 1074718 Beginning of record . Catalogue Information 1074718 Top of page .