Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell (Paperback)

~ J D Frazer (Author), Eric S Raymond (Preface)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

I'm very familiar with the Nutshell books, what my pal Van Wolverton calls "propellerhead books," or books for the nerds among us. This is appropriate because nerds appreciate brevity. On the other hand, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell appreciates levity.

I was guessing that maybe the book was about crazy computer scientists. And, in a way, it is! But more accurately, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell is a collection of the User Friendly cartoon strips, originally published on the Internet at http://www.userfriendly.org/. The fuzzy-headed-with-feet guy on the book's cover is Dust Puppy, the strip's mascot (who is apparently very popular among the propellerheads; a copy of him secretly appears in the game Quake III). Other characters, familiar to anyone who works in high tech, also appear in the comic strip, as well as various foreign agents, domestic spies, and what possibly could be parodies of well-known computer geeks.

The book is funny--the only Nutshell book I've ever laughed at. The illustrations were obviously done on a computer in some bitmap graphics application, but they aren't bad (and don't tell me they're stupid unless you've tried it; it is hard). The humor is often subtle, but I occasionally found myself bursting out laughing. Like Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes, or even Married with Children, it takes a while to soak in the humor, but then it becomes addictive.

I recommend Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell if for no other reason than so you can have a truly funny computer book on your shelf. (Or in the WC, which is where I read it.) There is a follow-on called User Friendly the comic strip, also from O'Reilly. The more you're into technical things, the more you'll appreciate it. --Dan Gookin

Product Description

The follow-up to the highly successful first collection of User Friendly comic strips from O'Reilly & Associates, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell tells the continuing tale of Columbia Internet, "the friendliest, hardest-working and most neurotic little Internet Service Provider in the world." Take three techs, two salespeople, a designer, two executives, a couple of administrative staff, mix in a mischievous Artificial Intelligence and a "dust puppy" born from the innards of a mega server, put them all together in a crowded little office, and you have the makings of one of the most off-beat, original and funny comic strips to come along in years. User Friendly reads like Dilbert for the Open Source community. With a massive online following, it provides outsiders a light-hearted look at the world of the hard core geek, and allows those who make their living dwelling in this world a chance to laugh at themselves.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156592861X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565928619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,109,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For open source zealots only!, May 18, 2000

By	J. Seifert (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ask people how they feel about Dilbert. If they work in an office environment, chances are they love it. If not, chances are they'll say it's poorly drawn and unfunny. Let it be said that, unless you're an avid Slashdot reader or have a burning passion for Linux, you'll feel the same way about the comic strip User Friendly.

If you are a part of that culture, though, you will no doubt find many strips you'll want to photocopy and stick up on your walls. Not all of the jokes fly, but you will love the few that do, primarily because you can relate to them.

Some of the jokes are dated, and considering that many of the events referenced are not necessarily earth-shattering events, it would have been nice to have footnotes or an appendix with references. One joke shows everyone missing from the office on May 19, with the lone character asking if today is a public holiday. Some hard thinking might remind you that that was the day "Star Wars: Episode 1" was released to theaters. Years from now, no one will be able to understand this strip without some historial context.

Of course, the main reason I bought this book was for the cool cover design. As a proud owner of several O'Reilly "animal" books (I will buy no other computer manuals), I just had to have this one as well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth Can be Funny, February 19, 2001

By	Cliff Hutson "The Marmot" (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one funny book. It truly captures the the world of IT, but puts a humorous slant to it. I read it almost from cover to cover and now frequently pick it up when I am in need of a laugh. I also like to post some of the topics on the door of my office. That bugs the heck out of our NT server folks, the jibes are a little too close to home for them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geeks, Quake and a little romance!, May 1, 2003

By	J. David Peach "dpeach" (Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Follow the guys from Columbia Internet as they work through the day to day tasks of tech support with really stupid customers, deciding which Linux distro to install, and tips on fragging the enemy. As you read you will find that there really is such a thing as a stupid question.

This book holds a little entertainment for anyone that is interested in computers. Admittedly, there is a certain level of Linux understanding to enjoy the Microsoft jokes. I would not buy this book for the technophobe in your life.

The book is dated now (who really remembers what happened on May 19th 1999?). But that is part of the fun, trying to figure out what the world events were at the time of writing.

There is something for all you computer geeks. A parody of Lord of the Rings and quite a few references to the Phantom Menace will keep you in stitches. There is even a romance that buds at the end of the book. I think it is all fake though, or at least cannot be long lived. Have you ever heard of geeks and romance going together?