If you're looking for a history of carillons and carillon music, check out Singing Bronze, A History of Carillon Music by Luc Rombouts. The author is the carillonneur of the city of Tienen and of the Catholic University of Leuven. Originally published in Dutch in 2010 as Zingend Brons, The North American Carillon Guild underwrote the book's recent translation to English.The book is a great history on the background of bells in culture and how and why the carillon tradition originally developed in Belgium and The Netherlands. During the interwar period the carillon culture was exported to North America, The UK and Australia as bell founding and tuning were improved and memorials were built to honor those lost in World War I. Carillon schools were founded at the same time and new developments in the playing mechanism advanced the complexity and musicality of the performances. Many instruments were damaged or destroyed in the Second World War, but the tradition was maintained and continues to grow. The history chronicles the performers and supporters who advanced the carillon art through its history.
The book is very detailed with many photos and illustrations and an extensive bibliography.