Maybe someday Schneier will write a book which I can recommend to people who are getting started in cryptography, but I'm not holding my breath.Schneier wrote Applied Cryptography, which is the best way to get started in the field. I picked it up while I was still learning programming (and not exactly confident in my math abilities) and still found it incredibly well written and understandable.
http://www.schneier.com/book-applied.html
From the Preface:
"I wrote Applied Cryptography to be a both a lively introduction to the field of cryptography and a comprehensive reference work."
