Justin, there is an excellent book on the development of this music called "Maracatu Atomico" written by Philip Galinsky, the leader of Samba New York.

This may not be the kind of book that you were referring to but it's an important read for anybody interested in this style.

Cheers,
John

Hi Justin,
If you read Portuguese, the seminal work is "Maracatus do Recife" by César Guerra-Peixe. It was originally published in 1955 and re-printed in 1980. Also, there is "Brazilian Music - Northeastern Traditions and the Heartbeat of a Modern Nation" by Larry Crook (ABC-CLIO, 2005). It has a very detailed account of the history of Maracatu and it's socio-political implications. It also includes a couple of musical transcriptions - a typical chamada (for caixa and alfaia) and the "basic baque virado rhythm" as used by Nação Porto Rico do Oriente (for gonguê, caixa and alfaia). That's not very much, I know, but I found Crook's transcription of the "basic baque virado" very helpful with the "sticking" for caixa and alfaia.

Whereabouts in California are you? Anywhere near Trinity County?
-m