Mandarin

Hey /lang/
I'm planning on learning Mandarin Chinese, and I'm wondering what software/books/other resources you might recommend for me to aid me in my quest?

Thanks.

学生，are you after a general textbook or something for character writing/meaning? The two big university-level textbooks are NPC (New Practical Chinese Reader) and integrated Chinese. Both have good points, I'm sure you can find reviews online. I know at least one of them comes with audio, not sure which/ if booth. If you are just after Characters, a great book is Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters (start with volume 1, obviously).