- Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300-362 BC by Paul Cartledge (1979). While dated in many ways, this remains one of the pillars of scholarship on Sparta, and one of the works responsible for reviving the subject in the modern academy.
- Spartans: A New History by Nigel M. Kennell (2010). An accessible new introduction to Sparta, taking into account the latest scholarship transforming our view on the subject.
- Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta by Stephen Hodkinson (2000). At times dense and academic, but groundbreaking in its reassessment of the nature of Spartan society, its functioning and its values.
- The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education & Culture in Classical Sparta by Nigel M. Kennell (1995). A comprehensive re-examination of the infamous Spartan education system.
- Sparta by Michael Whitby (2002). A useful collection of studies on aspects of Spartan history and society, though most of these have now been superseded.
- The Spartan Tradition in European Thought by Elizabeth Rawson (1969). An old classic, grappling with the ‘Spartan mirage’ and exploring how it has served different ideological and political ends in modern times.
- A Companion to Sparta, edited by Anton Powell (2017). A collection of summaries of the very latest research on Sparta, written by the foremost scholars in the field.