I'm a near-beginner in programming microcontrollers, though I'm an
electrical engineer by training.  I'll be following the Benson books and
the Predko book to learn the PIC family.

First problem is to decide which programmer and prototype boards to buy.
For the very beginning Benson experiments, I understand MicroEngineering
Labs has a ready made board. Is this a good board to get ?

Second problem is to decide on a programmer. I see there are dozens
available, but it appears two good choices are the MicroChip PICSTART Plus
and the DonTronics SimmStick programmer and system.  I'm looking for advice
from experienced PIC people: which programmer (and board system ?)  should
I buy ?

Lastly, I'm from the Fortran days. What's the best book to get up to speed
on C++ for microcontrollers ?

-Vaso