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There are three books which I constantly refer to. Each addresses a different level of ability of math.

Two of the books are available in inexpensive paperback editions. You can order them below.

All of the books are written for non-mathematicians, although most mathematicians and every single math teacher can get a lot out of each of them. There are no test problems to make you feel awful. All three are written in an almost conversational tone, and explain everything well enough that you don't need test questions.

Playing With Infinity, by Rozsa Peter, is a book from which any high-school student or adult can get a good Idea of "how math works." Middle-school students can also get a lot out of it. Parents can get a grasp of math to share with their elementary-school-age children. This book belongs in every home.

It is written in a friendly and very clear way, by a woman who was actually a famous mathematician, and one of the pioneers of computer science. She was, among many other fine things, a good example that the myth of "girls can't be good at math" is pure baloney.

Mathematics for the Million/How to Master the Magic of Numbers by Lancelot Hogben is a classic. It was the book that launched the intellectual self-improvement movement in America. It is perhaps the best book on general math ever written. Hogben takes you from the birth of mathematics to calculus in a lucid, human way. Even if you use only this one book, you will not only understand everything you will need for all of high-school math, and most of college math, but you also have a good basis for understanding the spirit of mathematics. H.G. Wells called it, "A great book, a book of first-class importance."

Unfortunately, the most basic one is out of print. It is Isaac Asimov's The Realm of Numbers.If you can get a hold of a used copy somewhere, I strongly recommend that you buy and read it. It is written by one of the greatest explainers of math and science who ever lived. It is still the clearest explanation of basic math I have ever read.