I would second the recommendation of the Campion book. It's written with a real enthusiasm and love for the bees. For a more in depth treatment there is of course Hooper. And one of the best recommendations I got when I was starting out was to buy 60 Years with Bees by Donald Sims. That one will more than pay for itself I can tell you.

As to equipment I went down the National hive route but it's a compromise in terms of space. If I were to start out all over before I'd bought lots of National kit I'd be very tempted to get Swienty poly Langstroth hives both for the cost and weight benefits plus it's suggested that bees winter better in them. Does anyone know of an equivalent National poly hive which would work with all my wooden kit? I doubt such a thing exists

Gerry