Can anyone recommend any good books, or URLS providing information on how DNS, NS Records, POP3, IP addresses, hosting, ETC all works, perhaps a UNIX book ? Any advice would be great, there seem's a lot to learn, and I would feel far better knowing the technical in and out's of everything before choosing a company to host with,

Thanks :)

I just received my "DNS and BIND" book, i'm into chapter 3 now and it explains everything that your looking for.