Who Cut The Cheese? - An A-Mazing Parody about Change (and How We Can Get Our Hands on Yours) [Hardcover]

Stilton Jarlsberg (Author), Kenneth Bleucheese (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

Parody

Who Cut the Cheese? is a parable (Latin for "terrible parody") in which four characters must find a way through a maze in their hunt for "Cheese." But please keep in mind that this cheese is actually symbolic of the things that we all want out of life: success and self-confidence, a nice house, a loving marital relationship, perfect children, a loyal dog, indoor plumbing, good Chinese food, several million tax-free dollars, and red-hot sex with multiple partners.

The "Maze" in this story is symbolic of the twisting, turning, confusing, mugger-filled blind alleys of Your Life. More important, since you're being compared to a rat in this book, the whole "Maze" analogy works like a charm.

When you come to see the "Psychobabble on the Wall," you can discover for yourself how to deal with change and how to find the Cheese that will make your life joyous and fulfilling. Failing that, feel free to take crayons and color in all the pictures. It's fun, it's therapeutic, and it will make it impossible for you to return this book for a refund.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I'm giving this book to everyone I know and asking them to give it to everyone they know, because Stilton Jarlsberg is the greatest living writer since Shakespeare. Come to think of it, that makes him the greatest living writer period, because Shakespeare is dead as a doornail and, face it, who ever understood what the hell he was writing about anyway? Not only is this book easy to read, but it also has pictures. I like that."        
-- Kenneth Bleucheese

From the Inside Flap

Parody

Who Cut the Cheese? is a parable (Latin for "terrible parody") in which four characters must find a way through a maze in their hunt for "Cheese." But please keep in mind that this cheese is actually symbolic of the things that we all want out of life: success and self-confidence, a nice house, a loving marital relationship, perfect children, a loyal dog, indoor plumbing, good Chinese food, several million tax-free dollars, and red-hot sex with multiple partners.

The "Maze" in this story is symbolic of the twisting, turning, confusing, mugger-filled blind alleys of Your Life. More important, since you're being compared to a rat in this book, the whole "Maze" analogy works like a charm.

When you come to see the "Psychobabble on the Wall," you can discover for yourself how to deal with change and how to find the Cheese that will make your life joyous and fulfilling. Failing that, feel free to take crayons and color in all the pictures. It's fun, it's therapeutic, and it will make it impossible for you to return this book for a refund.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609608916
• ISBN-13: 978-0609608913
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stilton Jarlsberg is a humorist, cartoonist, writer, and political commentator. He burst onto the national scene a dozen years ago as the author of "Who Cut the Cheese?" - a delicious parody of the business bestseller "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. "Who Cut the Cheese?" remains popular today with all of those who have either lost their jobs, are about to lose their jobs, or dislike the jobs they're hanging onto by their fingernails. Which, at this point, is pretty much everyone.

Jarlsberg is also the creator of two popular cartoon blogs: "Hope n' Change Cartoons" which features politically-incorrect conservative cartoons and commentary on topical news stories, and the completely non-political "Johnny Optimism" which features a wheelchair-bound boy and his faithful dog coping with the worst run of bad luck imaginable (the strip's motto is "What doesn't kill you makes you stranger."

"The Obama Sutra" is Jarlsberg's funniest political book yet, deftly mixing pointed humor and a thought-provoking thumbnail history of the "Hope and Change" years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caution! You Could Hurt Yourself Laughing!, November 21, 2000

By 

"tg914" (Kailua, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Cut The Cheese? - An A-Mazing Parody about Change (and How We Can Get Our Hands on Yours) (Hardcover)

I'm a big fan of office humor books (Dilbert is my patron saint) but nothing I've read until now prepared me for the relentless flurry of hilarious jokes in Dr. Jarlsberg's "Who Cut the Cheese?" If you're eating, you'll choke. If you're drinking coffee, you'll shoot it out your nose. If you're wearing good clothes, you'll wet yourself. If you're reading the book in church, you'll go to Hell. It's THAT funny! I experienced real pain at being forced to read the original (and distinctly UN-funny) "Who Moved My Cheese?" at work. Now I'm glad I did, if only to enhance my appreciation of this little hand grenade of a parody. I'm buying a handful to give as office gifts for the holidays (okay, so I'm cheap). Hint - there are jokes hidden everywhere in this book, so don't overlook the fine print. On the copyright page, in microtype, it says "printed on acid free paper because the stuff with acid burned our fingers." Hey, you've GOT to love a book like this!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Easy Shot, September 12, 2000

By 

R. E. Lomas Nd "mancorn" (Long Valley, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Cut The Cheese? - An A-Mazing Parody about Change (and How We Can Get Our Hands on Yours) (Hardcover)

Someone had to do it. The legions of working people who have to put up with a boss or a HR manager who takes to heart the asinine and prosaic teachings of Ken Blanchard (One Minute Manager) and his ilk needed someone to write a book like this to verify that they have not gone mad and that some management books really have gotten dumbed-down to the point that "Who Moved My Cheese" can become a serious bestseller. This book is amusing, and it takes all of fifteen minutes to read, but it really deserves to be purchased; and then anonymously mailed to every clueless boss who thinks grown people should be treated like children.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You think Deepak is deep? Hold on to your hats., September 21, 2000

By 

"mr_arch_stanton" (Santa Fe, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Cut The Cheese? - An A-Mazing Parody about Change (and How We Can Get Our Hands on Yours) (Hardcover)

Whoa! Don't be fooled by the "parody" label: this is a profound and expertly crafted book. The casual reader should not overlook the subtle hidden messages of this volume. I found that the themes and symbols of the work did not become clear until I had re-read the book several times, and purchased additional copies as gifts for my friends and acquaintances. The anagrams, palindromes, and crytograms scattered willy-milly throughout the text are worth the price of admission. Some of the wordplay is so obscure that James Joyce or Lewis Carroll would weep (with pleasure!). A truly great mind and potent personality is tantalizing us behind the nom de brilliance, "Stilton Jarlsberg." Expect great things from this volume...the author is truly a Master of Life.