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Adams builds his latest book (after 2004's The Religion War) out of entries from his blog, which results in a lot of short chapters and abrupt changes in topic. Still, some ongoing themes do emerge, as the bestselling cartoonist discusses his wedding plans-including his fear that he'll "dance like a drunken monkey" at the reception-and his struggle with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition which took away his voice during intimate conversations even though he could still give speeches to large audiences. He even tosses in a few Dilbert strips, with several examples of gags that were suppressed by his syndicate (he couldn't show a police officer firing a gun, for example, but a doughnut that shoots bullets met with approval). Readers who only know Adams through the comics page will discover a saltier tone to his cynicism. "If you have the choice of working as the guy who craps on the carpet, or the guy who has to clean it up," runs one bit of advice, "only one of those jobs lets you read a magazine at the same time." The randomness of this collection may not attract many new fans, but it's likely to keep his already sizable audience amused. (Oct. 18)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Adams didn't start his career path intending to become a workplace warrior. As he told FamousVeggie.com, he graduated high-school as valedictorian "because the other 39 people in my class couldn't spell ‘valedictorian.'" After earning a B.A. in economics at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, Adams went on to earn an M.B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley. Adding an interesting twist to his education, he also managed to pick up a Certified Hypnotist diploma from the Clement School of Hypnosis in 1981.
After college, during his often-brief tenure at a series of low-paying, low-on-the-totem-pole jobs at corporations from Crocker National Bank in San Francisco to Pacific Bell in San Ramon, Adams started to wonder if his sanity-saving doodles really could rescue him from a life spent working for The Man. Acting on a tip from a kindly fellow cartoonist, he picked up the 1988 Artist Markets guide and simply followed the instructions on how to get syndicated. He mailed out fifty sample Dilbert strips, and was offered a contract by United Media within weeks.
Adams's first attempt writing an actual book was 1996's The Dilbert Principle, which became a number one New York Times bestseller and one of the top-selling business books of all time. More than just a compilation of Adams's cartoons, the book included essays on the trials and tribulations of corporate culture. "Each one is on target and deliciously sardonic," said Booklist in its review. "Sometimes too true to be funny." Today, the strip continues its clip as the fastest-growing cartoon of all time, and is enjoyed daily by 150 million people in 1,900 newspapers, in 56 countries.
Transitioning from comic compilations to full books was a challenge for Adams. As he admitted to Salon.com, "Drawing the comic strip is fun -- it can actually increase my energy. I feel good when I'm doing it, and I feel good when it's done. But writing just sucks the energy right out of me. I find that after about an hour of writing sometimes I have to jump on the floor and fall asleep, right now. It's so much harder than it looks."
When he's not helping Dilbert bring a smile to the faces of the working wounded, Adams moonlights as a restaurateur, running two successful Stacey's Cafés in Northern California. He has also founded the Scott Adams Foods company, home of the Dilberito™ -- a protein-packed burrito perfect for the office microwave.
His past jobs include bank teller, computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, loan officer, corporate strategist, and pseudo-engineer. Says Adams, "I was incompetent in each of those fields, but for some reason no one ever noticed."
Anonymous
Posted January 8, 2012
XD
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Posted January 23, 2011
great book
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Posted February 20, 2010
Scott Adams is as funny or funnier in print than he is in the cartoon panel. Nothing is sacred to him - politics, religion, marriage, underwear, bodily functions. And he has an interesting and funny perspective on all of it. What is great about this book is that he can express himself without the fear of censorship by stodgy newspaper editors. It is a great way to get to know the real cartoonist and to hear about his dozens of failures in life and two very profitable successes (cartoonist and restaurateur). With 347 one or two page chapters it reads like a cartoon strip and as you read it you will find yourself saying, "I'll read just one more." You might wind up reading it all in one sitting (laughing all the way).
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Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.My first Dilbert book was 'The Dilbert Principle' which i had read some four years ago. And I still vividly recall how uncomplicatedly i could relate a lot of things mentioned in the book with my professional life at that point. I was very much aware that a lot of stuff mentioned in 'The Dilbert Principle' was nothing but a monument of author's
notional vehemence. Despite all that I had liked the book so much that I actually took down notes - notes in which Scott Adams guides fed-up-with-management workers how to put one back on the management. Chapters on Marketing, Sales, HR, especially, were my favorites. Even today , I refer to 'The Dilbert Principle' as much as I do 'Seven effective Habits'.
'Stick to drawing comics' is not a management book and I was aware of it before I bought this book. Having read 'Gods' Debris', 'The Religion War' in addition to 'The Dilbert Principle', I was quite certain of Adams' wherewithal to write on an array of topics besides management. Although Adams does scrape the management landscape in 'Stick to drawing comics', most of the fun lies in other chapters which make up the bulk of the book. In short, this book is a compendium of Scott Adams' blogs comprising cornucopia of topics. Chapters that struck a chord with me were 'Immortality Plan B', 'Overrated intelligence', 'Losing weight', 'Dancing', 'Relativity', 'Heat waves', 'Undergarment dysfunctions', 'Sadistic mumble movies', 'Self-criticism', 'Chinese striptease funeral', 'German cannibal' and last but not the least, 'The donut theory of the universe'. There is no common thread in this book, all the chapters can be treated as mutually exclusive.
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Posted April 30, 2008
If you like Scott Adams' Dilbert comics - you will love this book. I bought this for my brother but couldn't help reading it before wrapping it. His short stories on random everyday things are so funny you can't help but laugh out loud. Definitely worth it!
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Overview
Everyone knows Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, as the king of workplace humor. His brilliant insights into the crazy world of business have long been on display in his hugely popular comic strip and bestselling books like The Dilbert Principle. But there's much more to life than work, and it turns out that the man behind Dogbert and the Pointy-Haired Boss has an equally outrageous take on life outside the cubicle.Now Adams ventures into uncharted territory in this hilarious collection of more than 150 short pieces on everything from lunar real estate to exploding bladders, not ...