Best advice I can give (as an archer myself) is join a club. They usually have a selection of different bows to try and can point you in the right direction.
Bows come in many different styles and draw weights. (That's how much pulling power needed to draw the bow back.) Each bow would suit a different person - what's right for one might not work for someone else.

Are you in UK or USA. There are a number of organisations/societies in both countries that can help with finding a club. As with finding a bow, you just have to find the right club for you - not all clubs shoot the same style. I belong the the National Field Archery Society in the UK. The bow I shoot is a longbow and I make my own wooden arrows.

Try entering "archery clubs" on your search engine and see what it brings up!

Sorry I can't be of more help, but once your friend gets into archery he won't want to do much else - be warned it can be addictive.