We each have different interests, background knowledge, styles, and particular decks we prefer to work with.
I suppose there are three books that stand out (apart from the Encyclopedias)... and I list them in order of date of publication, as well as in order of personal importance - for two of these I have written reviews to which the link simply goes to.
Each is very scholarly, but in totally different ways.
From a perspective that enhances and deepens one's personal journey, I have yet to find a volume comparable to:
From a perspective that looks at the iconographic symbology of the Tarot and its plausible avenues of influence, none yet seems to come close to:
...and from the perspective that looks at historically extent materials directly pertinent to Tarot's development, there is still only one reference, even if faulty at times:
- Ronald Decker, Thierry Depaulis, and Michael Dummett's A Wicked Pack of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot