Irwin, Robert, "The Arabian Nights": A Companion, I. B. Tauris, 2004.

Irwin, an authority on Middle Eastern history and culture, provides an academic history of the origins of the Arabian Nights, including examination of its origins and translations, as well as the sociological insights the tales give to Islamic culture and history.

Lovell, Mary S., A Rage to Live: A Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton, Norton, 2000.

Lowell's biography of Richard and Isabel Burton is especially noteworthy for the fresh look it takes at Isabel. Lowell argues that Isabel did not, as is commonly held, destroy Burton's manuscripts out of prudery, but out of concern for the quality of her husband's writing and to protect not his moral reputation but his scholarly reputation.

Rice, Edward, Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography, DeCapo Press, 2001.

Rice, a renowned biographer, provides an account of Burton's travels and adventures...