I couldn't state whether Selfridge's book has more self justification than historical value, not having read it, Chuck. Please chime in here, anyone who has read the text.
Two sets of volumes have been close to the desk of mine in the recent past, both of them valid reading for our interests and both containing detail of the Cairo. One is "The Confidential Correspondence of Asst. Sec. Navy G.V. Fox", a two volume set mentioned in a previous recent post. The second is "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", ISBN 0-89009-572-8. This text includes something most Civil War texts don't-Good Maps. It is four volume and a reprint of period articles and observations. I consider it a primary document resource. You wouldn't want to drop it on your foot.