Alright, I'm also looking for a book on Buddhism... I grew up in a sort-of Theravada context (my mother and her family are Thai), but theirs was more of a folk practice than one that held to the actual beliefs/doctrines.
So I recently found The Heart of the Buddha, by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nacht Hanh, but I think it's a bit too butterflies-and-flowers for my devouring mind.
(I am used to reading pretty intense theology/spiritual books from my time as an evangelical Christian; Thomas Merton was my favorite.)
Reviews on Amazon led me to What the Buddha Taught, by Ralpola Wahula, a Sri Lankan (Theravada) monk... and this one does look pretty good, but it also seems cluttered by anti-Mahayana bias, and I'm more interested in a book on Buddhism that doesn't take these divisions so seriously (I believe Buddha would have dismissed them as well, but that is my opinion).
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good ol' introductory text? I would even stoop to "Buddhism for Dummies" if someone said it was good... I'll take anything here.