Book Recommendations For A Beginner?

Hey!

I'm looking for some suggestions in regards to what beginner books I should purchase? I will be taking up horseback riding lessons in the very near future and would like to take in as much information as possible before I mount a horse.

Some of my riding friends have suggested:

Centered Riding by Sally Swift
Complete Horse Riding Manual by William Micklem.

I've looked into both of these books and Centered Riding is referenced as one of the must own books, however I'm not sure how helpful it will be in "preparing" me for my lessons as it seems aimed at someone who is already riding? The other book, Complete Horse Riding Manual is aimed primarily at English riders and it seems to cover everything from the very basics to more experienced topics...

Any recommendations would be much appreciated! :)

The United States Pony Club D Manual
I'm in Pony Club so I own this anyway but it is EXTREMELY helpful. Once you move up you can also purchase the C Manual.

Thank you, that looks like an excellent beginner book! I was worried Amazon (Canada) wouldn't have it, but they do. :)

Get Centered Riding. It is helpful to every rider beginner or advanced.

Theres also a book called "How to get the most from your riding lessons" which is very helpful.

Its not a riding book but The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts is a good one for learning to understand horses and how they interact with each other so you can interact better with them.
Its kind of an autobiography too but there is some good knowledge there.

I would suggest tapes over books. There is so much about horses that can be misinterpreted through books. I don't have any idea what to give you as a suggestion but I think you would benefit more from a video.

I have a very good begginer riders book that I got when I started looking for a horse because it also has taking care of horses/taking up and other stuff.

I'm not quite sure of the title I will have to have a look:)