Learning sharepoint, can I setup a dev enviornment? Book recommendations?

Question

I want to learn sharepoint, can someone give me a quick overview of the various core things to learn in sharepoint? Is it a single installation of a product or does it have various components to it that have to be installed separately?

Is there a book that you could recommend that would be the idea first book?

Answer 1

MSDN is great place with a lot of information about SharePoint development and Inside Microsoft SharePoint 2010.