Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, and K. A. Appiah, eds., Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives, Past and Present, Amistad, 1993.

This volume collects reviews and criticism on Hurston's work from 1934 to 1992, offering a useful historical perspective on Hurston's literary reputation. Some of the more recent scholarly essays may be too specialized for the general reader.

Hemenway, Robert E., Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography, University of Illinois Press, 1977.

Hemenway offers an authoritative account of Hurston's life based on sensitive insights on her various writings. This scholarly book is long and detailed, but accessible to the general reader.

Hurston, Zora Neale, Dust Tracks on a Road, with an introduction by Maya Angelou, HarperCollins, 1992.

Hurston's breezy and possibly inaccurate memoir, originally published in 1942, describes the author's rise from poverty and her experiences as a darling of the Harlem Renaissance.

Lewis, David Levering, When Harlem was in Vogue, Oxford University Press...