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

LETTERS

“This tremendous aggregate of a book has many of the characteristics of a Festschrift assembled to honour some Great Influencer”: so, in 1973, the architectural historian Priscilla Metcalf began the f

THE LIBRARY OF TRAUMATIC MEMORY Tragic moments ★ ...

The last time most Libyans saw Saif al-Islam Gaddafi alive was in 2021. Muammar Gaddafi’s son, who for some time had been considered his heir apparent, had not been seen for years before, to the exten

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