hmmm... that's not what I expected... :(
I have a vague feeling I may be making more complexity than is nescessary here... It might be worth grabbing a copy of CvsGraph (or WinCVS if you're that way inclined) to see what's actually going on rather than poking around and listening to me speculate...
As for documentation I haven't read Fogel, but I have found the Cederqvist to be very useful in understanding CVS concepts.