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The 10 greatest changes of the past 1,000 years

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My castle is not your castle … the keep of Loches castle, shown here in a detail from Emmanuel Lansyer’s 1891 painting, was built in the 11th century. Photograph: World History Archive/AlamyMy castle is not your castle … the keep of Loches castle, shown here in a detail from Emmanuel Lansyer’s 1891 painting, was built in the 11th century. Photograph: World History Archive/AlamyBooksIn Europe, the last millennium has been shaped by successive waves of change, but which shifts, in which centuries, have really shaped the modern world? Read More...

The best books on Libya: start your reading here

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World libraryGlobal developmentReviewThe rule and downfall of Gaddafi feature strongly in recent work, but books like Ibrahim al-Koni’s The Bleeding of the Stone offer a very different view of the Arab world In the Country of Men by Hisham MatarHisham Matar's novel reflects the brutality of Gaddafi's Libya through the eyes of a young boy. In Tripoli in the summer of 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman struggles to make sense of his father's disappearance and of the terror it induces in the adults around him. Read More...

You look like an Agatha Christie villain! The moustache is back but should it go away agai

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Men's hairAfter years of beards, beards and more beards, the moustache is having a moment. But do you have to be Mark Owen or Henry Cavill to carry one off? I put it to the test When I came of age, moustaches were the height of uncool. They were pervy, old-fashioned and creepy. The masculine ideal was clean-shaven, unless you were Des Lynam. A bizarre thing happened 20 years later, when ridiculous moustaches and moustache iconography came into fashion, and people even had them tattooed on their fingers. Read More...