Mathematics Texts

I don't know that I got any other text concerning mathematics than a textbook until I got to college. A textbook was the only thing that was referred to and the only thing used to teach mathematics. After much experience and being exposed to other texts, I find this annoying. Textbooks are certainly not the only text (or the best by any stretch) there is to cultivate an understanding and appreciation.  There are many videos, historical texts, applets, podcasts, journals, magazines, and books that really show what math is about, more so than most any textbook. 
In my experience, the classroom is where I learned algorithms and displayed my proficiency with those algorithms to get a good grade. I didn't have to have a good grasp of what those algorithms did as long as I could come to the correct answer. I can't recall doing much other than plugging numbers into equations and getting answers out. In my future classroom, I dearly hope that I don't continue with that tradition.
I would like to teach students the underlying concepts of mathematics and help them to understand that math is about thinking more than just using numbers. In order to do this, I need to move beyond the algorithm style of teaching. I want to incorporate history as well as modern discoveries to enrich learning. I also plan to assess in a way that students are asked to have a thorough grasp of the content. One of the ways I've thought of doing this is to have think aloud portions of an assessment where students work through a problem while talking me through their thought process. I think this will cultivate a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the content.