In the darkness of the Indian cinema, reality falls away. Enter a world in which beautiful heroines sing in chiffon saris on alpine landscapes without getting cold. In which floppy-haired heroes perfo

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

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French politics is starting to give off a ...

The grisly fate of more than 16,000 soldiers and civilians during the First Anglo-Afghan War serves as a timeless lesson in hubris and bad leadership

Donald Trump is flailing, and no wonder. He was not elected to shoot nurses or raise healthcare costs for ordinary Americans while cutting taxes for billionaires. Yet the Democratic party’s elderly, w