Hi ETibbs,
Roy Underhill’s books will give you very good understanding of the nature of wood, the use of traditional tools and history of the craft. There are also some web sites that feature free book files of older woodworking books.
http://www.evenfallstudios.com/woodworks_library/woodworks_library.html
http://www.wkfinetools.com/mLibrary/mLibrary_index-1.asp
Have fun.