Colleague David Brown has acquired a copy of the newly-published Second Life: The Official Guide, and finds it to be useful, even though he’s a fairly advanced resident at this point. One of the authors of the book, James Wagner Au, is a reporter who has been living in SL and covering it daily almost since its inception. (The other three authors are certainly also SL experts; I just happen to know Au’s work.) This would be worth getting. (Linked through Amazon for your convenience.)