Kitbag referenced, before his edit, a very interesting article but as it was in a blog you can reach it, as I did, by typing "A Brief History of Tailhook Design" into Google.
As for a telescopic tail hook, anything involving sliding tubes or rods is going to be prone to trouble. The best and lightest solution I can currently think of for the F-35, is something which works on the same principle as the party whistles (below) in Kevlar with the metal shoe on the end ( provided it can be damped enough). It would at least be able to get the hook back far enough for a reliable hook up:
