The model behind Git, the way the repository works/conceptual model, is incredibly simple. The only trick is learning which commands are used to make the changes you want, and that can take a little time (and Googling).

Me neither. But I think I should. Every time I want to try something new, take a new direction in code or add a new feature I should branch, so I can safely add or remove pieces of code. Things not related to that new feature, like bug-fixes, should be done in the main branch and then get pulled into the feature branch. I'm just too messy with my commits to do that, because it requires making frequent smaller commits, instead of huge ones once in a while.

Useless? No. Overwhelming at times? Absolutely.

I think that Google is probably the best way to go, because not only will you get the man pages as high ranking hits, but you'll also get great hits from sites like StackOverflow and blogs that can explain things better.