I recently was asked for some advice about starting brewing so I figured I would post it here for future reference.
In my opinion the best book period for starting out is The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (third edition) by Charlie Papazian. He has a really relaxed point of view and walks you through everything from step one. This is where I learned the basics.
For a more scientific approach there is How to Brew by John Palmer. The first edition of his book is online for free at howtobrew.com
Next up is Basicbrewing.com. They have a ton of audio and video podcasts for free about different aspects of brewing. They also sell an introductory video that is okay.
As far as suppliers, if you have a local homebrew shop, I strongly suggest you support them if you need to buy stuff. (Look at http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/directories/find-a-supply-shop for what shops are in your state.) You can start off cheap by using bucket fermenters and enamel pots if you don't have anything you can use already. Both of the books above will help you figure out what you need. If you do not have a local shop, northernbrewer.com has flat rate shipping for most non bulky items. Midwestsupplies.com has good prices but no flat rate shipping. Finally morebeer.com is pretty good as well.
My suggestion is to start off with an extract kit for a beer style you like (make an ale though and stay away from lagers at first) and see how that goes. Two other tips: be patient and cool your wort down to at least 70F if not 65F before adding the yeast, and have a way to keep your fermenter from getting too warm or cold, keep it around 65-70.
one last link - http://www.homebrewfinds.com/ a great site for finding bargains.
Hopefully that gives you a good jumping off point.
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