If you have to choose just one of the books I list, I would suggest this one. A lovely overview of much of the history of the form, even if I think the chapter that touches on ATS is iffy. Much of the data and anecdotes on the history of dance in the Middle East I suspect have not made their way into an English-language work before now.

Although it's focused on Persian dance, I highly recommend this work -- it, along with TRADE LIKE ANY OTHER, was the first of the current wave of academically-focused books on our dance form. Excellent for understanding the relationship of the Iranian culture to dance, and how the solo dance that we know best evolved among the changes in that region over centuries.

A good, if not great, overview work. There's a few really notable articles, and some that I felt were so-so, at best. As a cheap paperback book, I do recommend it, if only for a good overview of the dance "over here" in the West, and a solid article on American Tribal. It does not cover mid-east incarnations as much as the works above.

It's rare to get a well-researched work on dance in Egypt that’s also enough raw footage of dancers from "over there" to sate most any serious dancer's palette. That this DVD is cheap on the ground is a major bonus. If you're rather watch than read, this book is a nice substitute for A TRADE LIKE ANY OTHER in some aspects, and acts as an update on some of the issues that older book touches on.

Recently re-printed (but not via anyone selling on Amazon!) this is the go-to book for Tribal Style. Everything from philosophy to detailed and complex history to how-to is in here, and given the many rumors and myths that have sprung up around ATS, it's a work that desperately need a re-printing and more popularity.