For Jam, the Jamlady cookbook----it has the pH of every fruit and therefore whether acid has to be added or what---not as much a fan of the recipes but the guidance over what is OK to can and what is not is excellent.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

Is a link to the US Dept of Agriculture, 2009 revision of Guide to Home Canning. Guide #6 is about pickling. This is probably the definitive source for methods and food safety.

Also, Morton Salt Co.'s site has information on pickling, as above is free on the web. There are a numbrt or resources from various agriculturial extensions and ag schools on the web.

The USDA should give you the basics, but if you want more recipes, I like all three of these:
The Joy of Pickling

Put 'em Up!

Quick Pickles: Easy Recipes for Big Flavor

The Ball Blue Book and my local university extension service have got me covered.

the joy of pickling is the best. i borrowed the book from the library so often that i finally bought it when the new edition came out. i use it at least twice a week right now as our garden harvest is in full swing. we have made 7 gallons of pickles, 2 quarts of rhubarb chutney, and 3 gallons of kimchee. a wonderful book!

For a beginner, definitely Ball's Blue Book is the best. Clear, easy directions and lots of recipes. I'd also recommend the UGA/USDA guides. UGA is home to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They know of what they speak.

After you have a few seasons of canning under your belt, then give a look at some of the others mentioned. They're all great books but are best for experienced canners.

I agree with LanaAnn and onesnowyowl. Start with Ball's Blue Book and the UGA. Plus check for your local extension office to see if they are offering any classes on preserving. There are usually several on offer this time of year.

For a beginner, go with Ball Blue Book. Nothing else will go 100% step by step and explain it in a way that you can work with questions and mistakes and still be sure the food is safe. Also, it has enough recipes that it won't feel like a waste, even if you just use half. Then, when you get a feel for it, you will know what kinds of recipes and information you need and that can help you choose other books.
The Joy of Pickling and Jamlady are really good for some things, if you don't know how to develop your own recipes,
but Ball Blue covers EVERYTHING.

You can't beat Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie".

Has a chapter on pickling plus curing, sausage making and much more. Polcyn is Thomas Keller's head charcuterer.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298

The Joy of Pickling is chock-full of information, all presented in well-organized, easy-to-understand prose that is so engaging that I sometimes read it just for fun (although to be fair I do this with a lot of recipe books). It's an excellent resource that really demystified the canning process for me. I highly recommend it.

I'm really a fan of THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO PRESERVING FOOD AT HOME by Janet Chadwick. It's been a wonderful resource.

I do A LOT of canning and own more books on the subject than one person truely needs. I own both of the books recommended and I must say I would NOT recommend either one of those for a novice. There are too many safety concerns that must be mastered and fully understood before you can move on to these books. I know many people probably skoff at following USDA recommendations to a T, but I don't dare stray from them. You're basically putting perishable foods in a shelf safe format and trusting them not to poison your family! Many people tell me that their grandma's did it that way for years with no problems, but we just didn't know that much about pathogens and food safety back then. Plus, most older homes were built with a root cellar, which acted somewhat like a refridgerator. Modern homes (and apartments) are usually completely heated, so we don't have that option. But I think the last convincer for me was when a health inspector told me, "botulism doesn't kill people any more - it just paralyzes them." Oh good!

Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it is a great book, but it isn't really geared towards keeping food shelf stable for long periods of time. If you don't plan to can your jam or pickles, and are okay with storing them in the fridge, then yes, it's great. But the value of that book is more in the other recipes it contains (I can personally vouch for their homemade pop tarts, Chai tea, crackers and baked potato chips. Yum!). The Williams-Sonoma book is beautiful, but the instructions aren't 100% alligned with the USDA. One of the pickle recipes says that the ph is sufficiently high to not require a water bath processing, which you should never, ever, skip! Also, while jams are a great place for novices to start, the recipes in this book are made mostly without the use of pectin. I make many jams without pectin each year, so I'm not knocking them, but if you're still learning the process I would definitely start with pectin.

The book I use most is the Ball Complete Guide to Home Canning. Even if I use recipes from other books, I'm still constantly referring back to this book! This book will teach you EVERYTHING you want to know about canning - jams, jellies (some with pectin, some without), fruit, veggies, pickles - everything. The Blue Book is also great, but it's a much smaller guide and really, the reference info in the Complete Guide is what sets it apart from other books. If I had to get rid of all but one of my canning books, this is definitely the one I'd keep. Hands down.

Good luck!