The best book to get is the green, telephone book sized "Bentley".

Just search on Ebay/Amazon for "Vanagon repair manual"

If the Bentley is over your head, best to search the archives of this
list whenever you have questions.  If you cannot find a suitable
answer, post your question...lots of helpful folks lurking about.

If you wan to "preview" the book before buying it, you can download a
pirated scan of the book from the link below (note, it takes a while
to download, be patient).

http://lmservices.free.fr/temp/transporter/manuel.pdf

>Just wondering what Manuals you recommended for a newbie for an 88 Vanagon?