Guides and dictionaries are much more abundant in this area. There are several well worth the time. The guides usually include a brief history of cheese, a section on serving cheese, and then a listing of common, or not so common cheeses.
Ridqway, Judy. The Cheese Companion: the Connoisseur's Guide. Philadelphia: Running Press, 1999. [East Regional Library 641.371 Ridgway]
This guide has an excellent introduction to cheese and a directory of cheese, listed in alphabetical order by cheese. The directory includes a description of cheese, the place of origin, variations of the cheese, and even a pie chart of the contents of the cheese.
Edelman, Edward and Susan Grodnick. The Ideal Cheese Book. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. [D.H. Hill SF 271 .E325 1986]
This is the premiere cheese guide book. This work sorts cheeses by type and then again by geographic regions. Included in each entry are how to buy, store and serve the cheese. It admittedly left out some of the rarer cheese so the reader could discover them.
Jones, Evan. The World of Cheese. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. [UL SF271 .J66 1976]
This work is divided into four parts: an overview of the history of cheese including different types of cheese; how to buy, serve, and make cheese; recipes using cheese; international cheese lexicon. It is a good beginning book for any cheese lover.
Masui, Kazuko and Tomoko Yamada. French Cheeses. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1996. [D.H. Hill SF 274 .F7 M36 1996]
This is a French cheese picture guide. The cheeses are listed alphabetically with maps to locate the origin. This work is a typical guide to cheese in its format and limited coverage. Guides tend to cover common cheeses or cheese from only one region.