I'm just getting into the craft and to put it simply, I know nothing of it yet.

I am going to be seeing someone who kindly offered to show me the basics and get me started, but books never hurt. I'm just looking for good book recommendations for someone like me (completely knowledgeless )

I've seen the "Backyard blacksmith" and plan on picking that one up, but what about "the complete modern blacksmith"? I've heard that book really focuses too much on grinding and has nothing to do with blacksmithing, would this really be worth the money especially since I'm a beginner (not even a beginner yet). What does grinding have to do with blacksmithing?

If you found a competent smith to start you out, blisters are better than books, any day.

Whoever told you that about "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" is horribly mis-informed. It is quite possibly the best beginers book.

download CoSIRA (RDA) books free from this site http://www.hct.ac.uk/Downloads/craftpublications.html

These books are excellent for beginners and beyond, from basic tools and techniques through to designs well worth the price (and effort)

Here is a great list...

http://anvilfire.com/eBooks/

The book that helped me get started was "Plain and Ornamental Forging" by Ernst Schwarzkopf. It was reprinted in 2000 AD.

There is an out-of print book that I think is the best to come on the market in fairly recent years: "Werk und Werkzeug des Kunstschmieds" (Work and Tools of the Artsmith); ISBN 3-8030-5040-5, 1981 AD. Lest the German title deter you, each printed page is in German, French, and English, so there is no need to attempt translating. The author, Otto Schmirler, was brought up in his family's smithy in Vienna, Austria. He became the chief designer for the firm, and his how-to drawings and photos are throughout the book.

I have found http://www.dealoz.com to be one of the premier book finders.

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

I would strongly recommend "The Skills of a Blacksmith vol 1: Mastering the Fundamentals of Blacksmithing" by Mark Aspery. It goes in depth teaching you how to make your tools to start out and how to use the tools. It focuses on true blacksmithing techniques, and if you learn every thing in that book you will be well on your way in the world of blacksmithing.

I would also recommend "The Nature and Art of Workmanship" by David Pye. It's not entirely a blacksmithing book, but it has influenced my work more than any thing else. The books is sort of about the philosophy of workmanship. It explores the ideas of "workmanship of risk" (the worker has the ability to at any moment by inexperience, inattention, or accident ruin the workpiece) vs. "the workmanship of certainty" (full automation where the end result is predetermined).

These are my favorite books in my library. Again I'd strongly recommend at least looking into both of them, it's important to start out right with the correct information as to not develop bad habits.

I have got more out of "The Backyard Blacksmith" than probably any other so you are on the right track there. I have to totally agree that Mark Aspery's book is worthwhile! He has a real gift for teaching the fundamentals in such a clear and in-depth manner that his teaching transcends the basics almost magically! A little off the main trail there is Tim McCreight's great book "Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition" which is more aimed at jewelry type work but is a truly exceptional reference with fantastic potential for inspiration!

Why not visit the IForgeIron Book Reviews section of this site. There are over 50 books reviewed and discussed there.
If you do a search of the IForgeIron site, you can find the thread Free Books - click here which has over 100 replies and book locations.

I'll agree with John about the downloads from RDA - they are some great sources of information. Another very thourough source is The Art of Blacksmithin (I think by Alex Bealer). Didn't hurt my feelings at all to get 2 copies of that one last Christmas! The backyard blacksmith is nice with lots of full color photos. There are a few dozen you can download for free out there - if you can't find many, let me know - I have tons of materials on my hard drive.

Glenn, I had been to the book reviews section and read all of them - there just wasn't enough written to make a judgment from though.

Everyone else, thanks for the suggestions, I think I'm going to start off with "The complete modern blacksmith" and "the backyard blacksmith" and after I read those probably pick up the ones NRunals suggested, the way he described them sounded like a must.