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Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert

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In the tradition of The Complete Far Side and The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Dilbert 2.0 celebrates the 20th anniversary of Scott Adams's Dilbert, the touchstone of office humor.

This special slip-cased collection-weighing in at more than ten pounds with 600 pages and featuring almost 4,000 strips-takes readers behind the scenes and into the early days of Scott Adams's life pre-Dilbert and on to the success that followed when Dilbert became an internationally syndicated sensation.

Divided into five different epochs, Dilbert 2.0 gives readers a glance at some of Adams's earliest strips, like those created for Playboy, and a peek at an abundance of special content ranging from numerous rejection letters to Adams's first cartooning check, and more.

Adams personally selected the material for this collection and offers original comments and humorous asides throughout. Also included is a piracy-protected disc that contains every Dilbert comic strip to April 2008.

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

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About the author

Scott Adams

284 books1,273 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.

He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

In recent years, Adams has been hurt with a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing. He can fool his brain by drawing using a graphics tablet. On December 12, 2005, Adams announced on his blog that he also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. However, on October 24, 2006, he again blogged stating that he had recovered from this condition, although he is unsure if the recovery is permanent. He claims to have developed a method to work around the disorder and has been able to speak normally since. Also, on January 21, 2007, he posted a blog entry detailing his experiences with treatment by Dr. Morton Cooper.

Adams is also a trained hypnotist, as well as a vegetarian. (Mentioned in, "Dilbert: A Treasury of Sunday Strips 00).

He married Shelly Miles on July 22, 2006.

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5 stars
301 (58%)
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Paolo Jose.
Author 2 books9 followers
April 17, 2013
By now, there is a well-established tradition of mocking the foibles and quirks of the corporate world in pop culture, from international versions of The Office, to cult faves like Office Space. It’s easy to take for granted now, long after the Asian Miracle, or the Dot Com Boom, but it must have seemed like a relatively novel concept in 1989, when Scott Adams began publishing his syndicated comic strip Dilbert. By now, Dilbert has evolved into its own veritable media empire, with multiple collections and spin-offs, and the requisite merchandise built around the iconic image of the eponymous protagonist’s upturned necktie.

Dilbert 2.0 is an over-sized bumper compendium of the strip, an ideal gift for both die-hard completists, as well as newbies hoping for an exhaustive intro. What it might lack in bells and whistles, it makes up for with sheer comprehensiveness. It’s a thorough document of the chronological development of the series. By extension, it’s a sweeping retrospective of the changes in corporate culture of the past two decades: overbearing micro-managers, budget squabbles, merciless HR policies, and inept financial advisers. All of this is shot through with Adams’ characteristic absurdist humor, emphasizing the frequently ridiculous basis of these corporate standards and practices. He’s particularly deft at mocking bureaucracy for its own sake.

One real highlight of Dilbert 2.0 is Adams’ own running commentary. It gives readers a direct access to his thoughts on the creative process, from his personal experiences of the cultural trends being satirized, to extolling the virtues of humor about “implied flatulence”. It’s a value added bonus to an already in-depth collection.


This review was originally published in Fully Booked Zine, December 2008/January 2009.
25 reviews28 followers
September 7, 2012
I was a huge fan of dilbert a few years ago, my dad had itroduced it to me, after seeing a strip posted in his office. We both started to read dilbert. I do own ths book, and although it doesn't contain all the ones in the newspapers, it stil has all the great ones. I was not expecting comentaries from the author and did enjoy his stories and notes. This has more then enough gut busters to keep the janniter busy cleaning the remains for weeks, in fact it could even fit into his job discription.

If you want a comic that contains office humor, to raise your morale at work. Read dilbert, I know scott addams had his own website where he posted a new strip each day. I haven't seen it for a few months. Dilbert is a truckload of laughfs.
188 reviews1 follower
February 16, 2020
The best of the 32-year old comic strip is here!! The best single issue is when Dilbert gets the respect he desrves!! The best character is Dogbert!! The TV cartoon series contains additional unused jokes!! The comic strip business' most evil and funny character is Catbert!! The cartoon series, like the comic strip, is for teenagers and older!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1,273 reviews
January 1, 2020
Most of the comics were so great, like getting the newspaper every day. A few from the early years were not as great as others.
It was interesting to have Scott Adams discuss why certain comics were done.
Profile Image for نزار شهاب الدين.
Author 4 books156 followers
March 16, 2011
Scott Adams has an overwhelming ability to keep on producing a funny new idea every day. If you don't believe it, then try reading this book. When I first embarked on reading it, I mused at the work I had ahead of me just "reading" it. Now, after finishing it, and with a more than 90% majority of funny strips, at least 20% of which are killers, I can say that Adams is the funniest and deepest cartoonist I have come across so far. For those who don't know Dilbert, this work is not about mere funny cartoons, this is deep, knowledgeable, and insightful sarcasm of the business world. Each character has its sparkling side, but for me, a cartoon featuring Wally or Dogbert has a much higher potential of being a killer.

I believe such book is essential for anyone who needs to know about Dilbert or who has come to know this cartoon recently and wants to get a better background. This was my case. I knew Dilbert a few years ago and followed it in newspapers then on the website both as strips and animations. The fact that the strips included in the book go back a long time does not make them the least stale. In fact, I was surprised to see that a significant number of the recently animated strips comes from very old ones.

Profile Image for Kyle Wright.
88 reviews9 followers
June 4, 2009
I love Scott Adams and his sense of humor, so I was expecting a lot from this book. It contains a collection of some of his favorite works from the last twenty years and includes some of his history as a cartoonist and commentary on select strips. While I enjoyed reading Dilbert through the years and the occasional comment, I felt that the book would have benefited from more frequent commentary, as most of these comics are available in previous releases. But don't let that dissuade you from considering this book! It was funny, revealing, and well worth the money; I just thought a bit more insight into the comics would have added some additional value as the comics are all available for free online. It is, however, a must buy for any serious Dilbert fan.
Profile Image for Hannah Belyea.
2,772 reviews40 followers
November 26, 2025
Join Dilbert, Dogbert, Ratbert, Catbert, and all their coworkers as they barely survive the endless hours of mundane and horrifying engineering dilemmas - at least, the hours where they aren't only pretending to work for the Pointy-Haired Boss. Adams will provide fans with nonstop laughter in this hilarious twentieth anniversary collection that is full of interesting facts, humorous tales, and ever relatable memories. There has to be a silver lining on the horizon at some point...right?
2 reviews
April 23, 2009
It's sad (but true) to say that most of Dilbert is funny because it's true. The interspersed notes from Adams, particularly when commenting on strips that were rejected or censored by the editors are great.

It's important to note that this is not every single Dilbert strip drawn, but strips selected by Adams for this retrospective.
Profile Image for Taylor.
107 reviews
January 5, 2009
Really enjoy the commentary. And the strips that Adams chooses are funny. My only problem is that I enjoy reading the whole weeks worth, and you usually only get a couple of the days. They may be the best ones, but the mood is a bit different since things jump around.
Profile Image for Brant.
Author 66 books33 followers
January 20, 2009
Dilbert is one of the cartoons I follow, and often one of the best. This is a good collection, with interesting comments from the author. My only disappointment is discovering that the strip has not been as consistently good as I make it in memory.
Profile Image for Andy.
198 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2009
Loved the book - I've been reading it (slowly) since November when a colleague of mine won a copy in a raffle and I got jealous. It's great to see the little comments from Scott Adams alongside a lot of the comics.
Profile Image for Sam Bauman.
130 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2009
It was good but I would have enjoyed more comments and less comics I've already read.
Profile Image for Scott Oney.
25 reviews3 followers
August 3, 2016
Anyone with a job can relate to Dilbert. Scott Adams shows us how ridiculous the world of business is. Almost anyone can find a Dilbert strip that hits home. A large volume, but well worth it.
Profile Image for Charles.
60 reviews22 followers
February 7, 2014
Over the last month this has given me a lot of laughs and enjoyment. Scott's comments and notes also were very interesting and fun. I think most office-geeks would enjoy this tome.
Profile Image for Bookworm Erica.
1,964 reviews30 followers
November 23, 2015
I give 5 stars for the comics ...4 bc the book is so darn big it was hard to read. I had to prop it up. For get reading in the tub :/
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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