Kendra, Folks have been recommending the Zinn books--which are good books-- but are maybe a bit too contemporary for this forum. If you're looking for info that would be most useful in this forum look no further than your public library. Most public libraries bought most of their cycling books during the 70s bike boom. Books by Eugene Sloane and Richard Ballentine will get you inside what was happening during the time that the CR list is most concerned with.
Most seasoned cyclists will poo-poo these "classic" books, but it's been a long time since we were newbies. Personally I'd look for "The Custom Bicycle" by Kolin and de la Rosa, "The High-Tech Bicycle" by Stevenson, and "The Bicycling Book" by Krausz for starters. Also if you search the archives some book thread or other comes up every 6 months or so and these can add extensively to your summer reading list. best, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives Coeur d'Alene, Idaho