The Elder Futhark (runes) were the alphabet of the Scandinavians. They were used for marking property and weapons, and even just graffiti. There is some evidence of magical use, i.e, the same rune repeating in a seemingly meaningful pattern. But there is no historical evidence of them being used for divination, and it seems to be a mostly modern invention used by New Age authors who thought they looked nice and mystical.

But, thankfully, some people with an actual knowledge of the runes have made attempts to reclaim the runes from New Age devouring. One author that is considered decent is Diana Paxson. Her book Taking Up The Runes, is widely recommended by people. But I have not read it, so I cannot comment.

I know that two authors that should be steered clear of are Edred Thorsson (he is far too romantic and woo-woo in many respects from what I've heard) and Ralph Blum, whose books are nearly worthless for really learning about the runes (any book that mentions a "blank rune" should be thrown away).

One thing you have to keep in mind is that the runes themselves have no "power" whatsoever. They are merely letters. They have no textbook "meaning". Which is why you cannot really go by the books that list what they represent, because they may not be wrong in some of their interpretations, but it's a tiny piece of the picture (similar to saying A stands for apple, aardvark, and aerosol, and nothing else).

If you're curious about getting a GENERAL idea about the runes, you can check out this site, which seems decent: http://www.tarahill.com/runes/runehist.html

Another book that is supposed to be VERY good is Rudiments Of Runelore by Stephen Pollington (it's on my wishlist ). It has a short, but good introduction of the use of runes, magical and mundane, from what I've heard.

Hope that helps.