I remembered how I learned 8051 myself as a green hand only a few years ago (when 8051 information on www were not so abundant).

First I went to bookstores and got one book, in which author also sells demo board with circuits exactly the same as that in the book. The book also came with a floppy with all the source code. I spent about U$200 for all that to get a feeling about how things worked. Later on I bought another book (with some different circuits examples) with yet another board and similar price. (And more books were bought later on until I found all the solutions could be found free on the www).

Secondly, I started to build my own demo board. Using Orcad (now I simply use Microsolf PowerPoint for simple circuits) to draw the schematics and wire-wrap all the IC pins. I started to buy more tools, like ICE and Comercial compiler. Luckily enough, my board worked without any HW trouble. That gave me great confidence in HW (I was and still am a SW engineer) and bought an affordable scope (TDS220), which helped me in debugging more add-on circuits. (Actually, A lot of LCD interface problems posted at this side can be easily detected under the scope by comparing the waveforms to the datasheet).

Lastly, for any HW problems, I consulted nearby HW engineers. I also came to this site and found many tips which could not be found in any books. And now I am able to help others.

Anyway, good tools really make things easy and worth the investment. If a starter cannot afford them, borrow them from school, company, or friends.

Regards, Oliver