Brick Questions

I have never done any tuckpointing before (or brick-work of any type for that matter), but the house is in need.

inside the garage, where hte bricks above the door are literally falling out.

inside wall of garage. The mortar around these bricks is basically powder, and you can move these bricks easily by hand.

At the base of the chimney outside the house, where some of the mortar is gone all the way through the first course of bricks.

I am thinking I'll start in the garage, which hopefully will help me learn how to do this in an area where looks don't matter, but I'd also like to patch up the outside areas on the house that are the worst (fortunately, there is not a lot to be done on the exterior of the house.).

Suggestions for me as I learn this? Any books/websites, etc to get me started? Tips?