Picture the scene: a former NHS chef ‘Clem’ Clements is celebrating his 98th birthday, sitting in his front room surrounded by his medications, an oxygen mask and a discreet tape recorder. He is recal

John Tolan Islam A new history from Muhammad to the present 304pp. Princeton University Press. £25 (US $29.95). James McDougall Worlds of Islam A global history 608pp. Allen Lane. £40. Elizabeth Drays

Lola Young Eight Weeks Looking back, moving forwards, defying the odds 336pp. Penguin. Paperback, £10.99. Lola Young has been a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 2004. She is also an emeri

The TV historian, 56, reflects on the debt he owes to his determined mother, the history of guns, and why the next series of The Celebrity Traitors should be just as good as the first one…

The beauty of Lancashire’s Lune valley emerges from ...

Unstoppable force By Lucy Feldman TEYANA TAYLOR IS BALANCING A WORKLOAD that borders on ridiculous. On the day we speak, her to-do list includes participating in a Q&A about One Battle After Another,