A good book to source to start learning

As Peasant said, it would probably be better for you to actually go to classes if they are available. When you are learning purely from a book/tape, you aren't interacting with anybody else, which is generallz useful in the way that they can help/correct you with formulations etc. Not sure about books but there are a few websites you can try:
The BBC have a good enough German section with free online course that would be a good starting point

You could also try the Goethe Institute Website

Some other sites you may find useful:

German/English Dictionary:

www.dict.tu-chemnitz.de
www.leo.org

German Tutorials:

http://www.ielanguages.com/German.html
http://german.about.com/

Basic Verbs
Verb Test

You could try and have a look through those sites, but in the long run I'd say it would be more beneficial to actually attend classes or find yourself a tandem partner.

Best of luck with it!