I have this manual in hard copy and pull it out all the time for health issues with my rescues and my gang. It is not for a novice but for a vet's office but when I don't understand some of the terminology I just look it up on the net. The other book I have that I really like is the Veterinary Drug Handbook by Blackwell Publishing. It is just like the book for human's on the different pills and drugs and what they are for. I find vets don't tell us enough information and really what they are thinking sometimes so this helps me understand more. I got both books from Amazon.
This website is great to save as one of your favorites.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp