Stargazing with a Telescope
Robin Scagill, Pitched at absolute beginners, this is a great book for picking out a telescope, how to use it and what you can expect to see with it. 

New Astronomer
Carole Stott. Dorling Kindersley. Published 1999. 144 pages hardback. Almost a children's book, this book assumes you know nothing. Therefore it could be a great introduction to astronomy, and it is so clear throughout. It's just one of those have to have books although you might out grow it fairly quickly.

Turn Left at Orion
Consolmagno & Davis., Cambridge University Press, 3rd edition published in 2000. 220 pages on what a beginner should be pointing his/her telescope at, 100 objects covered, and a new chapter for southern hemisphere skies in this third edition. This should be your first guide to what you can see with a 2 to 3 inch telescope. Great book, though the presentation and pictures seem a bit Spartan / rough.

Exploring The Night Sky with Binoculars
Patrick Moore. 3rd edition. For the complete beginner, only shows a small sample of what you can actually see with  binoculars so as to not overwhelm the reader.