I'm 40ish, no art classes beyond middle school, no formal training, have always liked art and wanted to learn to draw, but until recently haven't had time to learn a new skill. I picked up all the supplies needed at Amazon for under $40 (though I had to add a couple movies to get the free shipping). You can start with just some regular old paper and a standard H-2 pencil--same one you use in everyday at work, home, or school--you can get away with an h-2 pencil for the first part of the book, but as the lessons advance you're asked to use more shading, so getting a set is ideal if you plan going past the introductory lessons. BTW, nice to meet you, I'm generalizethis.
Here are supplies I started with:
The book has a lot history and science, so you can get through it faster by skimming past a few chapters to the lessons.
The first thing you are supposed to draw is a self-portrait. I didn't have a hand mirror, so I just drew a scene from Blade Runner.
Next is a person from memory--the book outlines how most memories are stored symbols, and that for most people, these symbols need to be refined in order better represent a realistic portrait (short: it won't look like the person you're trying to draw unless you've been trained or are a savant).
Lastly, you're gone to draw your hand.
That's it. That's your baseline--it's good to keep so you can look back and see how far you've progressed. You should see a major improvement in the next exercise.