Choice of resources should depend on what you're interested in. Monolithic "neuroscience" remains a myth -- it's a vast field, ranging from cognitive psychology

Choice of resources should depend on what you're interested in. Monolithic "neuroscience" remains a myth -- it's a vast field, ranging from cognitive psychology to biophysics. A scientist researching synaptic transmission mechanisms doesn't share much common ground with a guy doing high-level stuff. For what's commonly called cognitive neuroscience (which generally includes memory, cognition, learning and so on, thereby having the most relevance for a nonspecialist reader), Gazzaniga/Ivry/Mangun (2008) remains an absolutely solid introduction that doesn't dumb stuff down while still providing plenty of illustrations and worthwhile patient cases. Covers basic neurobiology in sufficient detail. My recommendation for this kind of stuff. For molecular and general neurobiology, I recommend the first few chapters of Squire's "Fundamental Neuroscience." Kandel's good as well. If you're looking for something more basic, Carlson's "Physiology of Behavior" is a brilliant and rather entertaining book.