Rating: 
Summary: Scott, stick to being a cartoonist
Review: "The Dilbert Principle" was a masterpiece, one of the funniest books I've ever read. I keep a copy nearby in case I need a quick laugh. The Dilbert Reruns (The Dilbert Future and the Joy of Work) don't have the same funniness to them. The cartoons are funny, the rest is somewhat bland. And I'm a great Dilbert fan...
Rating:
Summary: First part great, lamely limps home
Review: Although at times I thought I had slipped into a parallel universe where Dave Barry draws Dilbert cartoons, (and would that be a bad thing?) the first part of the book is very very funny. It also continues to show how Mr. Adams really does know the dangers and humor that are an integral part of the modern corporate environment. Suddenly, (maybe to make the whole thing book length) the book swerves to cover territory like "How to be funny." Proving a time honored truism, "The analysis of humor is usually not funny." Supposedly the goal is to teach someone how to add humor to the work environment but that would be like my posting of a Dilbert cartoon on my wall making me a cartoonist. And the chapter on handling criticism is only there to give Mr. Adams to attack a book that no one I know gave any credibility to begin with. It does come across as mean and petty, but mostly just as unnecessary.
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Summary: Dot-com boom book still laugh-out-loud funny
Review: Clearly written during the dot-com boom, this book is nevertheless enjoyable for its laugh-out-loud humor. It's written tongue-in-cheek as a guide to enjoy work - you're there most of the time, might as well have fun. Being devious is key. Some of the practical "jokes" that readers have sent to Scott Adams border more on cruelty than humor, but hey, you wouldn't take this advice seriously anyway. Reading it in the dot-bomb era is fun, too, as it shows the "take this job and shove it" attitude that the stock option days led to.The latter part of the book is Scott Adams' musings on creativity and humor. He tries to keep the same tonality as in the rest of the book, but you can tell he's a bit more thoughtful about this. It, too, is a good read, albeit different than the first part of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dilbert is the best in a line of business cynics
Review: Dilbert follows an established line of business cynics. Parkinson wrote that "work expands to fill the time available". Peter wrote "Managers in an organization rise until they reach their level of incompetence". And Robert Townsend, ex CEO of Avis, wrote that "consultants borrow your watch to tell you the time". Adams is aware of this and in his book, The Dilbert Principle, he refers to the Peter Principle as "those Golden Years when you had a boss who was once good at something". If Dilbert is not the first, he is the best. Unlike the others, he has achieved mass circulation and adorns t-shirts, coffee mugs and cubicle walls. The key to success, says Adams, is segmentation. "If you can sell enough units to the Stupid Rich... then you can lower your prices and sell to the Stupid Poor, (which is) where the real volume is." The Dilbert principle states that people are idiots. We are just idiots about different things at different times. "No matter how smart you are, you spend much of your day being an idiot." Big corporations encourage idiocy to thrive. They reward the symptoms of competence, above competence itself. Scott Adams himself had a brief foray as the super consultant, Ray Mebert. He dressed up, put on a wig (never forget the emotional intelligence of good hair), and helped a group of executives at an international company create "the longest, most useless, buzzword-heavy mission statement on earth". It was when they were putting it to music (since "there is a wealth of evidence that people can remember words more easily if they are put to music"), that he finally came clean. With the advent of Mebert, we are looking at a new age in consulting. One day we will look back to the Golden Days when consultants borrowed your watch and at least told you the time. The new Mebert consultants will take your watch and at most will ask you to describe it.
Rating:
Summary: Funny but philosophical
Review: Dilbert has always captivated me right from the time i remember. I always loved Dilbert cartoons (i subscribe to the cartoon via email) and i've read a number of Dilbert books. But this book doesn't just make the mark that Scott Adams is famous for. True, this book does make you laugh and think at the same time; but after reading "The Dilbert Principle" and "Dilbert Future" you would think the humour is probably a bit stale and crude (at times). Sometimes, i find the emails that Scott Adams publishes hard to believe and it even makes me think if a good percentage of them maybe spoofs. If you've such an idea, then this book will reinforce the fact! Many emails seem made up for the book. I even emailed Scott and (wisely) he's made no comments (and yes, he has replied to me on previous ocassions). Another thing sorely missing is the absence of new characters that generally make the entire Dilbert experience a joy to read. If you've read the other Dilbert books, go ahead and pick this one up, but if you're relatively new to Dilbert, i suggest you read the other books (Scott is a terrific writer) and then come back to this. All in all -- a must have for die-hard fans, a good read for other people!
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Summary: Finally, a book equals "Dilbert Principle"
Review: Finally, Scott Adams wrote a book that is as good as "Dilbert Principle". A must for anyone in the work force, going into the workforce and wondering abt the work force
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointed follow up to the Dilbert Principle/Future
Review: I am an ardent Dilbert fan, however I found this book full of cartoons that I had already seen and the writing was not as witty and incisive as the earlier books. I just didn't find myself thinking 'this is really true or this is really funny' as before. Since Scott Adams has been at home relying on Email from others for inspiration, his originality and insights into office life are very much less than before. He needs to explore new angles (like International differences) to keep his material fresh.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: I bought this book on vacations, needing something to read, and I'm really glad I did. My girlfriend thought I was crazy when I couldn't stop reading and laughing for hours. Too bad I ended it in just three days. Although the last couple of chapters aren't so much fun, it's overall a very entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Business Book
Review: I do not read Dilbert books for the humor, that part is simply a plus. I read them because of the serious business strategies in them. I highly recommend this book for any low level office workers. Having personally done most of the things in this book, I can say the "tricks" are for real. If you are one of those employees who gets your work done in 2 hours when your boss allotted you 40, then what are you going to do with the other 38 hours? The book follows the flow of Serious, Joking, Serious. It starts with paradigm-shifting philosophy, then it morphs into humor and finally it ends with a nice section on "how humor works". Nicely Done.
Rating:
Summary: Getting a little tired. Sigh.
Review: I live my life according to the Dilbert concepts. In fact, when I was a manager (I escaped and now live in a cube) my guiding light was to try to do things that the pointy-haired boss wouldn't do. I still wasn't successful, but that's another story. I owe much to Scott Adams. However, I didn't enjoy this latest book. I sense that he's now using these books to simply vent and that he is going over material covered in other books. While I snorted and projectile laughed several times during the reading of this book, there were very LONG gaps between each mirthful episode. Mr. Adams writes well and is humorous. But I fear that, at least with regard to his non-comic strip books, he may be in need of more inspiration. Perhaps he needs to get his job back at Pac Bell? By the way, I am a proud member of the DNRC.
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