 | Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition
Buy new: $23.10 / Used from: $9.65 The essential reference book for film noir of the classic period. Includes some discussion of neo-noir. Plot summaries, names, dates, and critical analysis for nearly 300 films.
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 | Film Noir by Andrew Spicer
Buy new: $27.03 / Used from: $17.20 Concise and readable introduction to film noir theory. Covers classic, modern, and post-modern noir. Includes essays on 3 directors and lists of films.
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 | The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch
Buy used from: $6.99 Another introductory text. Published in 1981, this was one of the first books on film noir written in English. Older and less comprehensive than the Spicer book, but still a solid introduction.
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 | Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir by Eddie Muller
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $8.35 Engaging survey of classic film noir written for a popular audience. Not intended to be comprehensive, but an winning introduction to great films for casual fans and noir buffs.
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 | A Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953) by Raymond Borde
Buy new: $13.22 / Used from: $8.99 Noir film theory's seminal work, first published in France in 1955, on which all subsequent theory was built. Amazingly insightful, considering it lacked the benefit of hindsight.
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 | Film Noir Reader by Alain Silver
Buy new: $15.61 / Used from: $4.95 Collection of essays written 1950s-1990s. Important seminal works, including Schrader's "Notes on Film Noir", plus modern studies of specific films and directors. Classic and neo-noir.
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 | Film Noir Reader II (Softcover) (Bk.2) by Silverr/Ursine
Buy new: $13.85 / Used from: $8.40 More seminal essays, including Nino Frank's, and an eclectic assortment of more recent essays that explore films, directors, themes, influences, and music. Classic and neo-noir.
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 | Film Noir Reader 3: Interviews with Filmmakers of the Classic Noir Period (Bk.3) by Alain Silver
Buy new: $22.50 / Used from: $6.16 Interviews with 18 directors, cinematographers, actresses, composers, writers, producers of the classic noir period, conducted by Robert Porfirio, Alain Silver, and James Ursini.
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 | Film Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes (Bk. 4) by Alain Silver
Buy new: $15.61 / Used from: $8.00 Mostly modern essays discussing key films and themes. Mixed bag. Some excellent historical studies, but too many essays rooted in socio-political agendas.
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 | More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts by James Naremore
Buy used from: $3.79 A scholarly analysis of "film noir" as an idea formed ex post facto that continues to resonate through contemporary media. Classic noir, neo-noir, and related crime films.
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 | Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch
Buy new: $13.60 / Used from: $5.01 Follows neo-noir 1960-1999, as the style became a Hollywood mainstay. Analysis of old ideas and new trends, from the surprisingly retro to audaciously original films. Best book on neo-noir.
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 | Shades of Noir: A Reader (Haymarket)
Buy new: $17.10 / Used from: $4.31 Ten highly academic essays focus on the origins of film noir motifs and their relationships to American culture. Classic & neo-noir. Dense, hard-core film theory. Not for casual fans.
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 | New York Noir: Crime Photos from the Daily News Archive by William J. Hannigan
Buy used from: $25.00 Not film theory, but it should be. These tabloid photographs from 1920s-1950s will disabuse you of the widely held belief that film noir's vice, violence, and realism were products of the WWII era.
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 | Somewhere in the Night by Nicholas Christopher
Buy used from: $0.01 Personal treatise focusing on elements of post-WWII urban environment which the author believes shaped film noir style. Interesting, thoughtful, but a stretch in terms of theory.
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 | Out of the Past: Adventures in Film Noir by Barry Gifford
Buy new: $22.00 / Used from: $5.99 Barry Gifford's personal take on 118 crime films released 1933-1988. If you find most film noir books too dry or academic, these energetic, entertaining essays might suit you.
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 | L. A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels by William Hare
Buy used from: $8.00 Analysis of 7 classic noir films and 2 neo-noir films that take place in Los Angeles. Includes discussion of related films and the directors, actors, and writers involved in their creation.
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 | L.A. Noir: The City as Character by Alain Silver
Buy new: $17.05 / Used from: $6.99 Classic and neo-noir in Los Angeles, with emphasis on how the city and its landmarks help create the noir mood. More than 150 b&w photos including many location photos indexed with addresses.
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 | Film Noir by Alain Silver
Buy used from: $12.67 Sleek, attractive showcase of over 180 photographs from classic noir films. Somewhat cursory analysis of 10 noir motifs and 10 representative films. Heavy on visuals, light on information.
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 | Art of Noir: The Posters And Graphics From The Classic Era Of Film Noir by Eddie Muller
Buy new: $37.12 / Used from: $27.32 A wonderful showcase of the brash, lurid poster art of classic film noir. 338 posters and lobby cards are reproduced in eye-popping color. Captions and essays expound on the bold styles.
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 | Painting With Light by John Alton
Buy new: $21.09 / Used from: $15.57 Not film theory, but lighting theory. A handbook to cinematography written in 1949 by John Alton, low key lighting specialist and one of film noir's most recognizable and revered cinematographers.
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 | It's a Bitter Little World by Charles Pappas
Buy new: $11.04 / Used from: $1.33 A nice little volume of hard-boiled quotes from film noir 1940-2005. Organized by date, theme, and indexed by film.
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 | Hard Boiled: Great Lines from Classic Noir Films by Peggy Thompson
Buy used from: $4.62 Book of quotes from film noir and crime films 1932-1964. Organized by film, indexed by artist and first line. Includes reproductions of more than 60 movie stills and lobby cards.
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