The problem is, to read those, you already have to know what "M-x" means. Catch-22.

Emacs is self-documenting, yes, but its help system (much like the rest of it!) seems to be designed for experienced users who can't quite remember the syntax for font-lock-keywords* , rather than new users who trying to figure out how to switch buffers or what "font-lock" even is. It's awesome once you get it, but using a help system to answer questions about basics shouldn't assume experience.

* http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/FontLockKeywords

The tutorial does help, though.