Can anyone suggest any books to help me understand how ASP.NET works from a a high-level theoretical perspective?  I don't need a tutorial or a "Beginning..." or a reference book but I would like to understand how the XHTML I write interacts with the server to produce the HTML I see on the page, how and when postbacks occur, and so forth.  I'd like the same for C#, similar to but not as compressed as the official language specification.  I've already written a successful (if simple) ASP.NET/SQL Server application but feel as if I'm wandering around in a forest whose dimensions and nature I didn't understand even if I'm able to identify some of the trees.  I need the "big picture" and any help would be much appreciated.

 Hello,

You could find ASP.NET books reviews here - ASP.NET books.

Regards

Take a read of

Pro ASP.NET 3.5 in C# 2008: Includes Silverlight 2, Third Edition
ISBN10: 1-4302-1567-4
http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430215674

Or

ASP.net Unleashed 3.5
ISBN 0-672-33011-3
http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0672330113

Both books give great coverage to using asp.net.

Hope it helps

This article may be on interest to you - A Low-level Look at ASP.NET Architecture.

Thanks.  The Apress book is particularly helpful. 

You might want to take a look at my book: Ultra-Fast ASP.NET (published by Apress).  It's oriented at an intermediate to advanced level.

Although my focus is on performance and scalability, I also explain how ASP.NET works from a different perspective than most authors; my goal is to help build a more intuitive understanding of not just how things work, but why they are the way they are, and how the various pieces fit together.  There's a high-level summary / write-up and a review on Amazon if you'd like to know more (see the link in my signature).

RickNZ:

You might want to take a look at my book: Ultra-Fast ASP.NET (published by Apress).  It's oriented at an intermediate to advanced level.

Although my focus is on performance and scalability, I also explain how ASP.NET works from a different perspective than most authors; my goal is to help build a more intuitive understanding of not just how things work, but why they are the way they are, and how the various pieces fit together.  There's a high-level summary / write-up and a review on Amazon if you'd like to know more (see the link in my signature).

good Intermediate C# Book:
Title: C# and the .NET Platform
Publisher: Apress

if you've taken Programming and Data Structures courses, this should be a very good book for .NET

Best Wishes