Chris Tarrant: ‘Dad was my closest friend’

The former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host has written a moving account of his father's war diary. Now more than ever, after having a mini-stroke himself, Tarrant wishes he could have talked to the decorated officer about his painful experiences, writes Angela Wintle

The book rustlers of Timbuktu: how Mali’s ancient manuscripts were saved

When Mali's historic city was taken by rebels, thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts came under threat. Charlie English reports on a dangerous operation to smuggle the archive to safety

John Banville: ‘Quirke comes from the damaged recesses of my Irish soul’

Irish author reveals pleasure and pain of creating pathologist in Benjamin Black books set to star in BBC TV adaptation

Gourmet manga stirs up storm after linking Fukushima to nosebleeds

Outcry over storyline blaming radiation exposure moves PM to respond and publisher to suspend Oishinbo series

Manga about Fukushima cleanup operation becomes hit in Japan

Kazuto Tatsuta, who worked on cleanup at nuclear plant, hopes his work 'tells people about things that the media never see'

Why women are hooked on violent crime fiction

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett: Reading about grisly sex murders and mutilation is a safe way to explore the threats we sense in the world around us

Fidel Castro lived like a king in Cuba, book claims

Former bodyguard Juan Reinaldo Sánchez writes that leader ran country like a cross between medieval overlord and Louis XV

Four Quartets: TS Eliot’s struggle to make the real world right in a spiritual realm

Roz Kaveney: TS Eliot – part 8: These poems are about old age and regret, but also poetic structure and art. After them, there was nothing much left to say

Sigrid Rausing: ‘The sadness was overwhelming’

Her wealthy family hit the tabloids when her brother's heroin addiction ended in tragedy. Retreating to an impoverished village changed her life, Sigrid Rausing tells Tim Adams

Bye-bye … Philip Roth talks of fame, sex and growing old in last interview

Great US novelist insists he is quitting public life as he reflects on his many literary identities

Narendra Modi and the new face of India

With the rise of Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi culminating in this week's election, Pankaj Mishra asks if the world's largest democracy is entering its most sinister period since independence

The gospel according to … Helen Schucman, not Jesus Christ

German court rules late American psychologist is author of book she claimed was dictated to her by Jesus via 'waking dreams'

Seeing read: Scarlett Johansson sues French novelist

Fictional work tells story of a French model who is mistaken for the American actor by the lead male character

Our place in Washington: the inside story of the British embassy

Britain and America famously enjoy a 'special relationship'. So it's fitting that our ambassador's residence in the US capital also has a very special history – although the fireside chats haven't always been cosy, says Paul Lewis

War of words: reporting from the trenches

A century ago correspondents fought for the right to write about the first world war, and today their successors' dilemmas remain unchanged• Excerpts from Guardian reportage from the first world war