If you can find an old copy of "Anatomy of the Aeroplane" by Darrell Stinton it is a very good read.
For a rotary wing perspective, most of Ray Prouty's books are written in a way as to be digestible (sp?) and informative without requiring huge amounts of mathematical horsepower.
My favorite is "Not Much of an Engineer" by Sir Stanley Hooker which is probably more narrative than you are looking for but is an inspiring read for up and coming aerospace engineers.
My two cents worth
Cheers