A good place to start is with Apple's own
Applescript Language Guide.
Also grab the
Applescript Guidebooks, they work with OS8.6/OS9's Help Viewer and are a wonderful reference with a lot of shells for scripts.
This Apple page leads to several other guides as well, including the Finder Guide and Standard Additions Guide.
And if you're looking for a hardcopy book, you can check the bookstores for:
Danny Goodman's AppleScript Handbook.
Have fun!
:-)
[This message has been edited by lycaon (edited 05-26-2000).]