Cameroon with Egbert by Dervla Murphy -- The great Irish travel writer takes her daughter on a grueling journey through Cameroon by local transport in the 1980s. Murphy's frank, unsentimental eye makes this one of the best travel books written about Central Africa. The Cameroon she describes has changed in many ways, but her observations about the people and the landscape still ring true.
Mango Elephants in the Sun by Susana Herrera -- A Peace Corps volunteer's account of life in a small village in northern Cameroon. Warm, funny, and honest about the frustrations and rewards of living in a place where nothing works the way you expect. A good book to read before spending time in the north.
Travels in the Congo by Andre Gide -- Not strictly about Cameroon, but Gide's 1927 journey through French Equatorial Africa passes through what is now Cameroon and remains a remarkable piece of travel writing. His sharp criticism of colonial exploitation caused a scandal when it was published.
Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono -- A novel by one of Cameroon's most important writers, telling the story of a young Cameroonian servant during the colonial era. It is short, devastating, and gives more insight into the colonial experience than most history books.
The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti -- Another essential Cameroonian novel. A satirical account of a French missionary's efforts in colonial Cameroon, told through the eyes of his young servant boy. Beti was one of the sharpest critics of both colonialism and the post-independence government.