That is exactly why I got my ham radio license -or even for the times that cell service isn't technically down, just overwhelmed (like on Sept. 11th).
You don't need a license to buy gear or listen in. You technically only need a license to transmit.
Here is a link to the study guide I used for my technician and then general license:
http://www.kb6nu.com/tech-manual/
It doesn't really try to teach you any of the fundamentals of radio/antenna theory, just gives you the information you need to take the test.
I also took a bunch of practice tests here:
www.qrz.com
The actual test (30 something questions) is drawn from a pool of around 350 questions, all of which are publicly available. If you take enough practice tests at qrz.com, you'll eventually see all of the possible questions.
The Baofeng radios already mentioned wok well for the price. If you couple them with a decent antenna, they are a good start into the hobby until you decide what direction you want to go. I bought two slim (j pole) antennas to work with my handhelds (Technician level frequency ranges), one that I have up in my attic and one that is collecting dust in the corner of my office. When I connect the attic antenna to one of my handhelds I can reach out quite a bit further, so I can definitely see an improvement in performance. They are also nice because they were cheap ($25?) and can be rolled up to a fairly compact size for storage in a backpack or whatever. I have one of each from the links below. The Ed Fong antenna is meant to be mounted outside, and I have mine secured in the thin-walled PVC as recommended.
Ed Fong antenna
slim jim antenna
The Ham Radio forum here has a lot of folks much more experienced and knowledgeable than me. It's not super active, but everybody is pretty willing to help.