I like Field Roebuck's book on roses. He has had two. Now out of print, it can be found as a used book or in the library. I think it is one of the best rose books around.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3641915/zone-5-rose-shrubs?n=10

"Complete Guide to Roses by Miracle Grow" is a good basic book to start with, "Growing Roses in Cold Climates" #2 because you are in z4 like me (one problem with this book is, its big on the Minn. tip for winter protection, not exactly my favorite way to winter protect roses), #3 is an older book, 'Hardy Rose' by Robert Osborne good info for z4 & finally "Everyday Roses" by Paul Zimmerman, some good ideas about rose culture to consider (also check You Tube for several Paul Zimmerman rose culture videos....just remember Paul Z is in a warmer zone so sometimes you have to "adjust" his views to z4).

"Roses without Chemicals" by Peter Kukielwski is a great book too.

Find your local library. There isn't one book that I'm aware of that covers all of your requests, and a lot of the books that come close are older. Just as there is a history of rose breeding, following changing tastes, there is a history of rose book writing, following changing tastes. In general, a current, generic rose book seems to be written for roughly Oklahoma. There is an entire chapter on irrigation, a sentence or two on winter protection, and mention of chemical fungicides. A similar book from the 50's or 60's says you should consider watering roses if it hasn't rained for a while, has a chapter on winter protection/hardy varieties, and a reasonable discussion of the fungicides current at the time it was written. The target audience is somewhere like suburban Philadelphia, with the understanding that some people live in colder places. The intervening decades saw the rise of the specialized rose book. Some are on specific rose classes. Some are on rose growing in certain regions. If they cover topics pertinent to your interests, they can be excellent.

So in roughly chronological order:

Roy Shepherd, History of the Rose - an older book, and not particularly one to sit down and read cover to cover, it is still an excellent reference book on classes and their development. Author is from northern Ohio.

Jack Harkness, Roses - an at times hysterically funny, chatty book on the development of roses from roughly 1850 to 1950, or the period of time the author either experienced first hand, or could get stories from others. An English book that makes absolutely no pretense of being anything else, it is definitely the most entertaining rose book I have ever read.

Suzy Verrier, Rosa Gallica, and Rosa Rugosa - more than you ever wanted to know about two classes of hardy roses, these books both start with a general care section, and then go on to list cultivars, most of them with photographs. When I did information tables for the local rose society, Rosa Rugosa was the book I had to watch because it was by far the one most likely to 'accidentally' wander off.

If there is one book you should look at, I'd say it is Robert Osborne's. Hardy Roses was re-released fairly recently in an expanded edition, and renamed something like Canadian Roses.

Unless you are interested in hybrid teas, I'd recommended avoiding the standard books at first. There just isn't any reason to learn HT care just so you can then learn the differences between HTs and hardy roses.

Another favorite rose book that I forgot to recommend, but love dearly is the book, "Climbing Roses" by Stephen Scanniello. I met him years ago and he signed my copy of the book. It's a great read with beautiful pictures.

"Right Rose, Right Place" by Peter Schneider is another good book. As the title suggests, the focus of the book is finding the right rose (one suitable for your climate and location) if you wish to have thriving roses. Peter Schneider lives and gardens in zone 5 Ohio, and this book is written based upon his experiences, and it is designed to be most helpful to those who live in a similar climate. He and his wife also hold an open garden for several days each June at their garden in Mantua, Ohio. If this is a reasonable distance for you, perhaps you could go and see the different types of roses in person.

What a great post. Brought back precious memories. I have belonged to two rose societies for many years. I wrote the newsletter for several years until my husband acquired Parkinsons and eventually passed away. Gallica, I thought it was interesting that you had all those books available when you did the information tables. Can you give me more details on that? We even quit showing our roses. It was so much work. Barb

Barb, a large local nursery sets up an indoor display garden in their big greenhouse around the beginning of March. There are educational tables set up around the edges, and when we had a local rose society, the society had a table. The other tables were for things like Cooperative Extension, Soil & Water, various local non-profits that were garden related, and a couple of sales reps.

About half the questions were from people trying to care for existing HTs. The other half were from people who wanted to have nothing to do with HTs, or their ilk, but were open to hardy, disease resistant roses. So I would always bring a small photo album of my roses, the Suzy Verrier books, and Robert Osborne's book. It seemed that most people had heard of rugosas, and had a good opinion of them, so it was fairly common for people to pick that one up, and just stand there leafing through it.