I already mentioned some of these, plus Sgt. Rock, earlier in this thread, while wondering if the world really needs still another beginners' manual. Also look at the articles on the home page of this site, books by Andrew Skurka and Justin Lichter, and Paul Magnati's (PMags') blog which has lots of excellent articles for beginning backpackers.
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey