Hello bobegilbert,
To start off we suggest you begin reading the whitepaper of Satoshi Nakamoto which can be found
here.
After reading this you should move on to the book
The Internet of Money by Andreas Antonopoulos a leading blockchain expert. This book covers the importance of bitcoin and why it is necessary that such a development found place. Through a collection of lectures Antonopoulos describes the historical, social and economical problems that can be solved with the help of this technology.
If you want to know more about the technical aspects of bitcoin, we suggest reading the book written by Andreas Antonopoulos:
Mastering Bitcoin. Even though the title suggests it is about bitcoin, it also covers the blockchain technology extensively.
To fully understand the implications of the blockchain as seperate development we would recommend the
Blockchain Revolution written by Dan and Alex Tapscott. This book focusses more on the actual use cases of the blockchain technology and its potential. It also sketches a possible future across a number industries and the outcomes the blockchain technology could offer.
Another suggestion for getting a better understanding of the blockchain is the book written by Melanie Swan:
Blockchain: Blueprint for a new economy. This book focusses more on the underlying technology of bitcoin, the blockchain. The book covers the application of blockchain in the industries where it could have the most positive impact namely: the government, software, healthcare and research sector.
With kind regards,
The Anycoin Direct team