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There are 2 layers to that question, the total beginner, and someone with a little background.

The problem is books are written in general to be sold and make a profit, to do that they have way too much padding to get the feel of the subject, much like sitting on the tub floor Vs a padded seat. Having said that in any of the books I have read there was a lot to skip without missing anything. The best book has not been written yet simply because the subject is being advanced by its own momentum and a new book is obsolete in a very short time.

Here are my dated thoughts:
One of the first books I read about driving is one I still feel is a good starting point Driving in Competition by Alan Johnson; this book is old but much of the book is still worth the reading. Competition Driving by Alain Prost and Pierre-Francois Rousselot is a very interesting read and certainly full of driving insights and technique. Drive to Win by Carroll Smith has to be high on the early read list. Winning: A Race Drivers Handbook by George Anderson is dated having been written in the early 90s but is aimed at the SCCA beginner and worth the time for some looking to get started.

People who ask the question come from so many different backgrounds and experience levels giving advice almost has to be an interrogation of their life experience. Competition Car Suspension by Allan Staniforth is a great history lesson and the subject mater is understandable enough for almost any background. Regardless of racing car class a book on areo such as Competition Car Downforce by Simon McBeath provides an understanding of how areo is at work on every racecar.

Interesting question Doug, and what were the first books your read? What were the most important?
David

What I said was "Having said that in any of the books I have read there was a lot to skip without missing anything." not that the books were not worth reading. The Alan Prost book has some very good tips and information and is one of my favorites. I read Bondurant's book and cannot remember it, and Bob taught me how to teach race car driving, I was a fill in instructor for some of his schools where he needed more than is regular instructors.

Two of my favorite magazines are Speedway and Circle Track both of which cover mostly circle track and NASCAR, I'm a big fan of both.

David