I use an Alvarez, and I like it a lot. Since strings are also important, my personal favorite acoustic strings are the Dean Markley "Blue Steel" strings.

I would try getting any "beginning guitar" book. It's very important to learn basic chords so that you can already get started with simple songs, before building up from there. I have not had experience using books, but if you like songs by various artists, you can look the particular song up in Google search followed by the word "tab" and you should get several results. Often times, tabs will include chords, and even show you where to put your fingers. When reading tabs, there will be six "strings" with numbers on them. The strings will be in order, starting (on top) with the e string (the high-pitched one on the bottom), then B, G, D, A, E (yes, this is also an E string). The numbers on the strings tell you which fret to hold, so if there's a number 5, put your finger on the 5th fret on the string the number's on. Although tabs don't give you a sense of tempo, if you know the song, you can follow along once you get the hang of the guitar. Numbers on top of each other mean that you play them at the same time...you'll get the hang of it.

A good song to start off with is Tonight (Reprise) by the Smashing Pumpkins (just the beginning part). Try to find the MP3 somewhere so you know what it sounds like. It's the first song I learned, so you can always start from there. Afterward, you can strum really basic songs like Boss DJ by Sublime to learn more chords, etc.

Hope that helps. You can always ask me if you have more questions.