http://www.mercola.com/2001/mar/24/coconut_oil.htm

here's a good place to start.

basically, oils are a long, controversial topic from which i've spent hours of time researching. the overall consensus seems to be that:

certain saturated fats = good, such as those found in coconut oil and to a lesser extent, organic grass fed butter.
omega 3's (fish, flax) = good.
omega 6's (all vegetable oils) = good when in proper ratio - BUT we consume way too much and therefore should restrict their consumption / consume more omega 3's.
omega 9's (olive oil) = decent but don't go overboard.

as far as vegetable oils go:

olive oil = good for low heat cooking, good source of monounsaturated oleic acid.
fish / cod liver / flax oil = good for your diet because of omega 3's, NEVER heat though.
butter and coconut oil = the best for frying, baking, etc. good source of 'beneficial' saturated fats, if the latter is grass fed (important).

all other vegetable oils not cold pressed and refrigerated are rancid and oxidized by the time you buy them, and even if they are refrigerated, they should only be used in cold food like as in salad dressing. with that said it's best to limit their consumption (like occassional hemp seed oil, seseame oil for flavoir) etc. because excessive omega 6's cause inflammation.

as far as other saturated fats like those in meat, the general consensus is that they're bad while some sites like weston a. price and mercola say meat saturated fats can be good. personally i don't believe that.