I spent fall semester of 1999 studying in Amsterdam, so my information is based in part on recollection and personal experience. That said, I found a number of resources to be helpful:

Abraham, Manja. "Illicit Drug Use, Urbanization, and Lifestyle in the Netherlands." Journal of Drug Issues 29 (Summer 1999): 565-586.

Attwell, Bryce. Amsterdam. New York: Spring Books, 1968.

Cotterell, Geoffrey. Amsterdam: The Life of a City. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1972.

Deurloo, Marinus C. and Sako Musterd. "Ethnic clusters in Amsterdam, 1994-96: a micro-area analysis." Urban Studies 35 (March 1998): 385-397.

Israel, Jonathan. "A Golden Age: Innovation in Dutch Cities, 1648-1720." History Today 45 (March 1995): 14-20.

Kemme, Guus (Ed.). Amsterdam Architecture: A Guide. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Thoth, 1992.

Kloosterman, Robert C. "Amsterdamned: The Rise of Unemployment in Amsterdam in the 1980s." Urban Studies 31 ( No. 8 1994): 1325-1344.

Levine, Myron A. and Jan van Weesep. "The Changing Nature of Dutch Urban Planning." American Planning Association Journal (Summer 1988): 315-323.

Shachar, Arie. "Randstad Holland: a 'world city?'" Urban Studies 31 (April 1994): 381-401.

Sorkin, Michael. "The Urban Vibe." Architectural Record (June 1998): 68-71, 218.

For a non-academic look at Amsterdam, try some of the websites on the links page.