I have found the Sams Teach Yourself in 24 Hours series to be the best general books on most software.  The books are divided into 24 one hour lessons that cover the basics quite well.  Here are links to buy some of these books through Amazon.com.

Sams Teach Yourself Word 2003 in 24 hours
Sams Teach Yourself Excel 2003 in 24 Hours
Sams Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Sams Teach Yourself Access 2003 in 24 Hours