Dilbert Gives You The Business [Paperback]

Scott Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Everyone who reads DILBERT" and works in an office will appreciate this newest collection, Dilbert Gives You the Business. Creator Scott Adams tells it like it is through the insane business world inhabited by Dilbert. If frustration and lunacy are an inevitable part of your workday, appropriate measures must be taken immediately. Andrews McMeel has the perfect antidote to your workplace stress. After 10 years of syndication, Dilbert is universally recognized as the definitive source of office humor. What makes this 14th Dilbert book so unique is that it is a collection of the most popular strips requested by fans for reprints and downloads from Dilbert.com gathered together for the first time. Arranged by topics for quick reference, this hilarious book is the comprehensive Dilbert source book, sure to alleviate work burnout. Packed within these colorful pages, fans will find all their favorite characters, including Dilbert, as he encounters daily issues from delegating to decision-making, trade shows to telecommuting, and downsizing to annoying coworkers. It's business as usual for the Dilbert clan. . . . Dilbert is continually updating his résumé, Dogbert continues his pursuit of world domination, Wally strives to do the least amount of work possible, and Alice is eternally frustrated by the Boss. Welcome to the all-too-familiar world of Dilbert-the lowly engineer who has become an icon for oppressed and burntout workers everywhere! The most popular business-oriented cartoon in the world, Dilbert speaks to millions of fans who toil in the corporate trenches. No matter how outrageous a tale he spins, Dilbert creator Scott Adams inserts sufficient nuggets of truth in every strip to keep his believers laughing. In part, that's because Dilbert is based on his own former corporate experiences-and is kept current by culling inspiration from the 350-plus E-mails he receives each day. Keep Dilbert Gives You the Business close at hand-as you would your phone book, Internet diversion tool.browser, and any other work .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Adams began his career in banking in San Francisco, and then moved on to experience life in the cube at Pacific Bell for 17 years. Now devoted full-time to various Dilbert projects, Adams lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740700030
• ISBN-13: 978-0740700033
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

What started as a doodle has turned Scott Adams into a superstar of the cartoon world. Dilbert debuted on the comics page in 1989 while Adams was in the tech department at Pacific Bell. Adams continued to work at Pacific Bell until he was voluntarily downsized in 1995. He has lived in the San Francisco Bay area since 1979.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad "Best of" book., July 22, 2000

By 

John Peter O'connor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dilbert Gives You The Business (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of material from earlier Dilbert cartoons rearranged by topic. The cartoons show Dilbert and his weird collection of co-workers in a range of different situations.

It will not be of interest to Dilbert fans who already have the books from which these cartoons are taken. However, seen as a "Best Of" book, it is worthwhile. The actual selection of material is very good and it certainly shows the humour of Dilbert at its best.

If you do already have all of the books in the Dilbert series, I'd suggest buying this one as a gift for a friend who is not familiar with Scott Adams work. It makes a great introduction, showing what Dilbert is all about.

If you are not familiar with Dilbert and want to find out what it is all about, then this book is a good place to start. Just accept that, if you get hooked and buy the other books, you will then have a copy of this book that you do not really need. If that happens, no problem, gift wrap it and send it as a present to a friend.

My only real gripe about the book is that its nature is not made clear on the cover. Not making clear that this is a "best of" collection seems to suggest that the author, or his publishers, view the readership as little smarter than some of the characters in the books.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have to agree with the last point..., November 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dilbert Gives You The Business (Paperback)

Don't dog Scott Adams, this is obviously a re-release of previous work, but I hardly consider it to be him selling out. If you already have the other books that these cartoons are in, then don't buy this one. The idea behind this book is to help people find cartoons relating to the specific topics they are looking for so that they can use them to prove their point, rather than having to dig through books to find the right comic for the situation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very funny stuff, May 2, 2005

By 

Pistol Pete "Pete" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dilbert Gives You The Business (Paperback)

Dilbert knows office humor and this book is a compilation, by topic, of some of Adams' best work over a 10 year period. I love Dilbert, so this book is a lot of fun.

However, I will warn you - having the strips arranged by topic takes some of the humor out of it - a whole section of strips dedicated to "Secretaries" for instance, is not nearly as funny as just seeing an occasional barb. Can you imagine Seinfeld doing his comedy routine by subject? "Ok, here are all my jokes about women", now onto "cookies" - no, it just doesn't work as well. I prefer the straight timeline accumulations. And you will find yourself rereading strips you have seen in other Dilbert books too.

But overall, a fine collection - I still think it's great - it just could be better.