I've never studied etymology, but I find myself interested in how words came into Latin and how Latin gave rise to words in other languages. There are many sources for finding the etymology of a given word, and I would like to supplement that available information with some basic understanding of the underlying processes.
Is there good introductory material for Latin etymology, both to or within Latin and from it? I am looking for a simple introduction with basic ideas, fallacies, and examples. After reading it I would hopefully have a better intuition as to whether a given etymological explanation is plausible. I don't have any strict criteria, but I hope my intention is clear enough.
I would prefer it to be under about 20 pages. Imagine the material you would use when giving a one-hour talk on the topic for the general public. If I get more interested, I could consider a whole book, but I want to start small enough and get a clue of some basics. In the scholarly fields I am most familiar with — mathematics and physics — the best kind of source for this kind of goal would be lecture notes, but for Latin it might be something else like the introductory section of a book.
Ideally, I'm looking for a single source, but I realize that it might not exist. It's fine if the source only covers one direction (to/within or from Latin); I can use other sources for other aspects. It's also not an issue if it's not specifically about Latin but otherwise great; I can supplement Latin-specific things elsewhere. All suggestions for material in this spirit are welcome to help me — and hopefully others too — get started.