Bonnie, I'd get it a lot faster if it were documented. Derek, I have to jump in here...
Much of what Bonnie has described "is" documented - but not all in one place. If all the documentation you ever wanted was in one place - and then multiply that by the different start-up needs of every developer - you'd have a book too heavy to carry.
.NET has a steep learning curve - it's just the way it is.
I understand how you feel, believe me, I do.
FWIW, I seem to recall the Hacker's Guide to VFP being praised as providing information beyond the Fox manual. :)