Scott Adams still has the corporate world guffawing about the adventures of nerdy Dilbert and his power-hungry companion, Dogbert, plus Ratbert and the pointy-haired boss, as they make their way through the travails of modern work life. Only a cartoonist with been-there-endured-that experience could make us laugh so hard. Over 150 million fans across 65 countries cannot get enough of Adams' glib office humor. When Did Ignorance Become A Point Of View? captures it all, even those Sunday strips that make it into the office each Monday morning.
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).
I have to say that I generally enjoy Scott Adams's books. They are funny and seem to capture work in a cubicle/corporate environment very well.
The only negative comment is that while the comics capture what was going on in the work world at the time, some of them won't go over very well today. However, as a guy who is in his late 50s, I generally enjoyed most of the comics.
If you have worked in an office, there is a good chance you can relate well to any Dilbert book. I have worked in office settings, and even though there weren’t any engineers involved, whenever I read Dilbert, I have to wonder if Scott Adams had my office bugged. Always good for laughs.
At first I thought "how can I review a book of humor? It's to your taste or it's not." But then I thought what the heck. It didn't take me long to realize I needed to take breaks from this book. The sarcasm and cynicism is strong with this one, but man it's funny and brilliant. I printed out two of the strips to put on my fridge. One had me laughing throughout the day for 3 days in a row--just the thought of it. I once read that Goethe had so much respect for Shakespeare he recommended one take a six month break before reading another of his plays. This Adams book is classic, but I don't need to wait quite that long, and can't wait that long, though I need to let the cynical level in my bloodstream lower before reading another.
The only thing that worries me about reading Dilbert books is how much I have in common with Wally.
The one that really speaks to me is when Dilbert asks for nap time at work in order to increase his alertness, and he devolves into hallucinating that French people are touching him with cigarettes. I've had that hallucination myself many times when dozing off at work.
We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended
I liked the way the manager "escalated" things, the manager playing Star Wars with flashlights, and the woman who had no sense of proportion. Silliness.
Summary: Are you frequently annoyed at work? Is your boss an idiot? Does your manager ask too much of you on a daily basis? Dilbert and Dogbert can relate. Their comic strip uses a dry humor to highlight the ins-and-outs of office life.