One book that brought me into Windows programming was Programming Windows by Charles Petzold. While examples were C-based actual theory was mostly language-agnostic. APIs tend to work the same whether you do it in C or VB.
If you had any interest in Windows API, I do not think that there was a better source at the time. Unfortunately this great book died after 5th edition (Windows XP based).
Well, book is back from retirement and this time it deals with Windows 8. It will be published in November at price of $50. However if you buy it before May 31st 2012, you can grab it for a $10. I would call that a good deal.
I already ordered my copy.
P.S. I must warn you that this book is very distant relative to original series at the best. Instead of low-level programming you will get XAML and panes. However, Petzold is known for good books and that alone should justify $10.
P.S. If you are interested in real C++ programming book, do check Professional C++.