Wow, half an acre!! That is GIGANTIC. You're verging on proper smallholding territory there, rather than allotment-sized. Bear in mind that a full-sized allotment is 10 rods, which is 250 square metres. This was considered enough to keep a family of 4 in veg for a reasonable part of the year, but more and more councils are finding that most people don't have the time for it, so they've cut plots in half to make them more manageable - so 125 square metres. Half an acre, if I've got my sums right, is about 2000 square metres. That is like having 8 full-sized allotments or 16 half plots. It's HUGE!
I think a major, major thing here is going to be firstly, how you put up a barrier to keep pests like deer out (hedging? fencing?) and secondly how you make it manageable so you don't break yourself in two with the work involved if you also have a day job to hold down.
Fruit is wonderful because it's easy, and apart from annual pruning, trees do tend to look after themselves. To be honest, in a few years you could have an orchard big enough to allow a good deal of nobbling and you would barely notice it because you'll be inundated with stuff anyway that you'll be glad to get rid of some! 
It's also sometimes something that can be done in a partially shaded part of the plot. Raspberries, gooseberries, currants are all really easy too - you probably will want a cage for these to stop the birds getting to them!
Give a good think to infrastructure as well: for a plot that size, you will want huge compost heaps like Monty Don's, where you can just turn one into another. Leaf mould stacks, places to put tonnes (literally) of manure that you will need to get delivered in a trailer, that kind of thing. Water for putting things in is going to be an issue - perhaps a huge water butt? Thinking about where you locate all these to make your life easy will make a load of difference.
Cost-wise, reusing whatever you can makes a huge difference. I built a fruit cage out of some poles I found in a skip and some cheap netting. You can use any old wood to make raised beds - most of mine were built using the old fascia boards from my house! I'm just doing a small plot, but when you're trying to plant at scale, even cheap materials can start to get expensive.
Agree with book that the battle when you're starting any plot, even a small one, is psychological. It can be easy to fly into things and plant up huge areas that aren't sustainable to keep weeded through the season especially when you need to balance clearing ground with tending ground. If you go slowly and steadily, it's less stressful, and you get to the same place without the heartache! 