Is there a book I can read - I need to learn what I need to know in joining a real estate limited partnership. Thanks

I do not know of a book to read but a LP is similar to a LLC however the parties inside are different. In a Limited Partnership the parties are General Partner - usually the one who controls the day to day operations in some form and the Limited Partners - usually the ones who have limited or no day to day operation control. Many investment funds work with the LP structure where the LP is a capital provider and the GP is the manager.

Every company can have it's own different structure and to understand that you would really need to understand what is written inside the operating agreement or if the manager is using the company as a fund, you would to read the subscription documents.

If you add some more detail, we might be able to also add some more insight for you.

Gene Trowbridge has some legal construct type books on this.  I would suggest checking those out.  I am not aware of any book that would cover everything you need to know though.  People that invest in these types of projects generally have the financial capacity to hire attorneys, CPAs, etc. to assist with diligence.  

I can't recommend a book, either.  

I would, however, recommend that you only consider investing in any sort of partnership if you understand the business the partnership is engaging in well enough that you could step in and run the business.  And only if you have access to sufficient details to be able to step in and run it.  Otherwise you run the risk of being bamboozled by a promoter with a lot of big promises but not so much in the way of results.