Antonson - To Timbuktu for a haircut: a journey through West Africa

In the magical-travel-names department, Timbuktu undoubtedly holds the trump card Marrakesh, Kathmandu, or Zanzibar are mere runners-up but Rick Antonsons trek to the fabled desert city proves that dreamtime destinations are found in our minds just as much as on our maps.

Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet and author of
Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil

To Timbuktu for a Haircut is a great read a little bit of Bill Bryson, a little bit of Michael Palin, and quite a lot of Bob Hope on the road to Timbuktu.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman, former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization

There are three kinds of people. The people who make things happen, the people who watch what happens, and then there are the people who wonder what happened. With this book, Rick Antonson has made things happen in West Africa on a remarkable journey to and through a part of the world most of us may never experience. Great characters, great stories, and truly great adventures. Not to mention a great read.

Peter Greenberg, former travel editor, NBCs Today,
current travel editor, CBS News

The remarkable combination of Rick Antonson exploring the ancient mysteries of Timbuktu matched with the rich culture of Mali that he captures so well makes a page-turner from start to finish. Ricks underlying story confirms my own experience in that amazing land.

Jerry W. Bird, editor, Africa Travel Magazine

I thoroughly enjoyed reading To Timbuktu for a Haircut from cover to cover and had difficulty putting it down. It is truly an engaging book. Rick Antonson indeed captures the essence and intricacies of Malian culture, as well as the flavour of what it is like to travel through West Africa roughing it.

Professor Musa Balde, CEO, Timbuktu
Educational Foundation

Anyone planning a trip to Africa should put Antonsons book on their packing list right after malaria tablets.

National Post

To Timbuktu for a Haircut

Timbuktu is thought of as the most remote place in the world. This historically rich city, today in the country of Mali, houses 700,000 ancient manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries. The author traveled in Senegal and Mali.

To Timbuktu for a Haircut

A JOURNEY THROUGH WEST AFRICA

RICK ANTONSON

Foreword by Professor Geoffrey Lipman

Skyhorse Publishing

Copyright 2013 by Rick Antonson

TO TIMBUKTU FOR A HAIRCUT first edition published in English by Dundurn Press Limited, 2008. This edition published by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., in arrangement with Dundurn Press Limited.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. , a Delaware corporation.

www.skyhorsepublishing.com

Front cover photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62087-567-4

Printed in the United States of America.

To Brent and Sean two sons, two travellers, two friends who believe in my every journey, even those in the wrong direction. And to Zak, my Dogon guide and Mali friend. May the three of you meet one day over the long pours of a Tuareg tea.

Part of the authors royalties from To Timbuktu For A Haircut: A Journey Through West Africa will go toward preservation of the endangered Timbuktu manuscripts.

About this 1830 engraving, taken from Ren Caillis Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, the French explorer wrote: Two enormous heaps on the outside of the town appeared to me to be also collections of dirt or rubbish. Many a time I ascended to the tops of these hills to obtain a complete view of the town and to make my sketch.

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

Miriam Beard

T O T IMBUKTU FOR A H AIRCUT IS A GREAT READ a little bit of Bill Bryson, a little bit of Michael Palin, and quite a lot of Bob Hope on the road to Timbuktu. It has adventure in the form of a journey into the unknown. It has knowledge a wealth of information about the geography, history, and sociology of a fascinating land, its people, and their culture. It has discovery of a hidden treasure trove of ancient manuscripts that tell of a civilization long forgotten that, in its day, rivalled modern-day mega-states. And it has romance the love of a man for his quest, his encounters, his profession, his family, and for the essence of life itself. Once started, you simply dont want to come to the end.

The story is compelling. And its told with passion, with self-deprecating humour, and with a strong sense of respect for the seemingly barren land where daily life is a constant reminder, to the rest of us, of the importance of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and of our global commitment to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Rick Antonsons personal odyssey is peppered with commentary on issues that are geopolitically relevant, and his insights as an industry professional into those issues links with travel are right on the mark.

The reader truly feels a part of this journey, beginning with Ricks agonized midlife decision to spend a month without work, without BlackBerry, without family and business obligations. Next comes the germination of the big idea of chasing a childhood fantasy in Darkest Africa and then the bizarre travel planning with its self-imposed requirement to do it the hard way, accompanied by a pivotal local agent who makes Fagin in Oliver Twist seem like St. Jude, the patron saint of travellers. Finally, there is the truly fascinating adventure itself travelling overland to a city that at its peak rivalled London or Venice as a trading centre.

The story flows easily and lucidly, blending local community minutiae with serious global issues such as the disparity between haves and have-nots, shown in the dull monotony of a handful of rice as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The author shows us the contrast between todays survival-of-the-fittest, market-based society and a railway carriage or hostel in Mali where you can leave your belongings with strangers. He reveals the awesome Sahara Deserts creep into Timbuktu, demonstrating one of the most serious sides of climate change. And he evokes the radiant, innocent beauty of the smile on the face of a child who receives one of Ricks seemingly endless supply of memorabilia, reminding us that children everywhere are so different in the conditions into which they are born, but are so alike in their characters, and that we owe the children of Africa a seriously better future.