The Yellow Peril: Dr Fu Manchu and the Rise of Chinaphobia review – the factors that shaped our fear of China

Chinese uber-villain Fu Manchu reflected the jingoism of British culture in the early 20th century, writes Philip French

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson review – a lucid, thrilling and amusing history of the digital age

The creation of the networked world, conjured up by a group of nerds, wonks and hippies, is the defining story of our era, writes Peter Conrad

The 100 best novels: No 57 – Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)

The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations, writes Robert McCrum

All the Days and Nights review – Niven Govinden’s beautifully brief fourth novel

Niven Govinden’s stylishly meandering narrative calls to mind both Alice Munro and William Maxwell, writes Alex Preston

Common People review – family history as a new genre of non-fiction

This book offers a different take on genealogy: part detective story, part Dickensian saga, part social history, writes Ben Highmore

Boyhood Island by Karl Ove Knausgaard review – the third book in the series is likely to surprise

The six-part My Struggle series continues Knausgaard’s exploration of growing up, but his latest volume marks a departure in style, writes Stuart Evers

Dark Tides by Chris Ewan review – Halloween chills, Manx style

Drawing on classic horror films, this Isle of Man-set thriller avoids schlock cliches to deliver a chilling read, writes Alison Flood

The History of Rock’n’Roll in Ten Songs review – erudite, passionate and magnificently subjective

Greil Marcus leads us on a playful, idiosyncratic journey down the wormholes and back alleys of rock, pop and soul, writes Kitty Empire

The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me review – a family saga with all the trimmings

Sofka Zinovieff’s tale of Lord Berners and his lover is packed with money, sex, secrets and bad blood, writes Rachel Cooke

Once Upon a Time review – Marina Warner’s scholarly history of the fairytale

A lifetime of investigation into storytelling has gone into this gem of a book from the queen of fairytales, writes Amanda Craig

Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime review – the grisly evolution of swab justice

Crime novelist Val McDermid charts the history of forensics and interviews crime scene investigators to get the maggots-and-all story, writes Ian Thomson

Joan of Arc: A History review – a new window on to a strange chapter in French history

Helen Castor’s attempt to put Joan of Arc in context impresses, even if its subject remains elusive, writes Lara Feigel

A Farewell to Arms review – a physical equivalent to Hemingway’s prose

Love, war and video cameras fight it out in Imitating the Dog’s multimedia adaptation of Hemingway’s novel, writes Clare Brennan

A Farewell to Arms review – Hemingway novel becomes multimedia theatre show

The author’s tough-guy take on the first world war is transferred to the stage with outstanding technical and dramatic flair, writes Alfred Hickling

Nick and Tesla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove – review

GrrlScientist: The newest instalment in the Nick and Tesla “science mysteries” series, where young people learn to use their scientific and electronics knowledge to solve mysteries around them.