Sorted, by author..

• Anderson, Christopher.
  Hollywood TV: The Studio System in the Fifties
  Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1994.
  All kinds of inside dirt on 77 Sunset Strip and its clones, and a lot of other interesting stuff, that would eventually shape television as we know it. Plus the scoop on James Garner and Roy Huggins, and their battles with Warner Brothers. There's some fascinating stuff in here/
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• Brooks, Tim, and Earl Marsh.
  The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (4th Edition)
  New York: Ballantine Books, 1988.
  The standard by which all other reference books on American television should be judged. Short, concise overviews of what seems like every show ever aired, listed by show, as well as some fascinating lists in the Appendix. If it ain't here, chances are it never aired.
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• Collins, Max Allan and John Javna.
  The Critic's Choice: The Best of Crime & Detective TV....Buy this book
  New York: Harmony Books, 1988.
  A rollicking read, full of outrageous opinions, defiant defenses and embarrassing admissions, by a Who's Who of crime writers, TV critics and others, rounded up by Max Collins and John Javna. A hoot. Even the throwawy lines are keepers. Highly recommended.
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• Larka, R.
  Television's Private Eye: An Examination of Twenty Years Programming of a Particular Genre, 1949-1969
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.: University Microfilms International, 1973.
  Seminal work of the TV private eye, listing almost every private eye show on American television from 1949-1969. Includes info on production, sponsors, time slots, plot synopsis, even sponsors. Although now dated, it captures the sense of popularity of a genre that is now almost, sadly, non-existent.
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• Lewis, Jon E., amd Penny Stempel,
  Cult TV: The Detectives....Buy this book
  London, U.K.: Pavilion Books Limited, 1999.
  A spiffy-looking, often irreverent look at British and American crime show cult favorites, arranged in alphabetical order. A good bathroom book.
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• Marill, Alvin H.
  Movies Made For Televisiom: The Telefeature and Mini-Series 1964-1979
  Westport, Conneticutt, U.S.A.: Arlington House, 1980.
  A fascinating listing of what many consider to be the Golden Age of American made-for-television movies, it's all here: the fondly remembered one-shots and the many many pilots, both sold and unsold, ranging from the sublime (the Harry O pilot) to the ridiculous (the Hager twins from HeeHaw as twin P.I.s).
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• Martindale, David.
  The Rockford Phile: The Unofficial Casebook of The Rockford Files....Buy this book
  Las Vegas, Nevada: Pioneer, 1991.
  A real fan's book, done by a real fan.
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• Martindale, David.
  Television Detective Shows of the 1970s: Credits, Storylines, and Episode Guides for 109 Series.
  Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1991.
  Excellent resource, with photos, index, 563 pages.
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• Meyers, Ric. Murder On the Air: Television's Great Mystery Series.
  New York: The Mysterious Press, 1989.
  A more in-depth look at some of the great American TV detectives. A logical follow-up to his own TV Detectives.
  
  
• Meyers, Richard.
  TV Detectives.
  La Jolla, California: A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. 1981.
  Outdated now, but still the best single book about American TV detectives I've ever seen, covering the entire genre from the beginning, right up to the early eighties.
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• Nelson, Craig
  Bad TV: The Very Best of the Very Worst.... Buy this book
  Delta Publishing, 1995.
  Nelson has seen some amazing wrecks in his life, and here he tells all, in loving detail. P.I. shows mentioned include Charlie's Angels, Valerie Bertinelli's Sydney, Honey West and Two of Diamonds.
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• Robertson, Ed,
  This is Jim Rockford.... Buy this book
  Los Angeles: Pomegranate Press, Ltd., 1995.
  Features a collection of answering machine messages left on Rockford's machine, and much much more about what many consider the genre's best show.
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• Robertson, Ed,
  Thirty Years of The Rockford Files. Buy this book
  Los Angeles: ASJA Press, 2005.
  A new edition of Robertson's already-definitive Rockford book, "This is Jim Rockford...", with a lot more information. The book, subtitled "An inside look at America's greatest detective series," now runs close to 500 pages, more than twice as long as the previous edition.
  
  
• Starman, Ray,
  TV Noir: The Twentieth Century
  Albany, NY: The Troy Boomakers, 2006... Buy this book
  It's about time someone took a serious look at television noir through the years. Unfortunately, this book -- while breaking importanty new ground -- doesn't cut it. It's at best a cursory and at times entertaining look at the topic, but it's marred by grammatical and factual errors, curious omissions, even more peculiar inclusions (Combat?) and risible, poorly argued positions that one can only hope were a result of sloppy research, looming deadlines or sloppy editing -- and not serious, considered thought. A bigger problem is that there's no workable definition of noir to hang the book on, so one is frequently left wondering what the point is.
  
  
• Tibballs, Geoff, editor.
  The Boxtree Encyclopedia of TV Detectives
  London, England: Boxtree Limited, 1992.
  Excellent encyclopedia listing almost every American and British detective program from the late forties up to the time of publication. Detailed credits and short reviews give an enlightening look at mysterious procedding on both sides of the big pond.