not sure that i fully understand the question. have you watched episode #43 yet? it's all about the select tool, might be helpful in terms of helping you find the info your looking for.

http://www.go-2-school.com/podcasts/043 

if i understand your question correctly though, i think the answer might be that one of the fastest ways to select an entire object is to tripple click on it with the select tool.

if that doesn't help, let me know. 

-mike