{"product_id":"the-book-collectors-of-daraya-a-band-of-syrian-rebels-their-underground-library-and-the-stories-that-carried-them-through-a-war-by-delphine-minoui","title":"The Book Collectors of Daraya A Band of Syrian Rebels, Their Underground Library, and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'This is an urgent and compelling account of great bravery and passion. Delphine Minoui has crafted a book that champions books and the individuals who risk everything to preserve them.' Susan Orlean, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Library Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Based on lengthy interviews with these young men, conducted over Skype by the award-winning French journalist Delphine Minoui, \u003ci\u003eThe Book Collectors of Daraya\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful testament to freedom, tolerance and the power of literature.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eISBN: 9781529012323\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PAN MACMILLAN UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43016120074303,"sku":null,"price":17.5,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0647\/8626\/8223\/files\/10544953482732.jpg?v=1773744546","url":"https:\/\/bookconnection.com.au\/products\/the-book-collectors-of-daraya-a-band-of-syrian-rebels-their-underground-library-and-the-stories-that-carried-them-through-a-war-by-delphine-minoui","provider":"The Book Connection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}