Rocketgirl's Full Review: Scott Adams - Cubes and Punishment: A Dilbert Book
For anyone who might be unfamiliar, the Dilbert cartoon by Scott Adams, is serialized in hundreds of newspapers across the country. Dilbert is a software engineer who works for an ignorant boss and even more incompetent "higher-ups" who have no idea what their goals are or what products they make. He works with his equally frustrated pals Alice and Wally. Dogbert the consultant gives astonishingly bad advice that the bosses always take. Catbert, the evil Human Resources director, applies principles of personnel management that are totally illegal or at least unethical. For office workers across the country, though somewhat exaggerated at times, Dilbert seems totally plausible. In fact, it has happened to us. Particularly the loss of privacy and comfort in favor of tightly packed office cubicles.
This particular edition was just released last fall. It's a full size 8 1/2 by 11 soft cover book about 200 pages. The book is broken down into individual chapters, each focusing on a different Dilbert character. Dilbert, the Pointy-Haired Boss, Wally, Alice, Catbert, and Dogbert are featured characters. Each section has both the three-celled comics from the daily papers and the eight-celled comics from the Sunday paper. The longer strips are in full color. For the most part, the strips are arranged in chronological sequence based on the dates they were written. Some of them are very early comics in the strip and are drawn somewhat differently than those being printed today. And unlike many other Dilbert collections, this one does not contain whole series of cartoons from a single time period. There might be two or three from 1996 then it skips to 2000 or maybe 2002 and then up to 2006.
I have worked in a corporate office most of my career and I can tell you that Scott Adams isn't far off. In fact, my coworkers and I wonder if Adams doesn't work for our company. Its as if he knows our own pointy-haired boss. I had heard rumors that he got many of his ideas from our industry (government contractors). At any rate, I have experienced all of the characters that Adams described. The incompetent boss that assigns meaningless projects. The HR director who really does nothing to hire staff that will make the company succeed, but instead only hires friends. The consultant who makes recommendations about things he/she knows nothing about, followed by the stupid point-haired boss that does what the consultant says just because he/she said it. Co-workers such as Alice and Wally who develop strategies for dealing with the feelings of inadequacy and being unappreciated. This cartoon comes so close to home that it really helps me from feeling too depressed about how disheartening the job can be. This can't be the only place the job is unsatisfactory, it's everywhere, right?
There are also some minor characters, such as the Elbonians, who know nothing, but are always getting Dilbert's company's outsourced business. There is Asok, who is everyone's whipping boy. There are other minor characters who fill the niche of someone you know in your office.
For anyone who needs a little escape or a laugh, I would recommend any of the Dilbert comic strip books, particularly if you're an office worker. You'll recognize all the insanity right in your own office. It will be most relevant to people who work in an office, though people in other job categories will find parts they can relate to. I especially liked this collection because the range of time periods in which they were written--you can see bits of the real news and technology changes through the history of the cartoon. It's a great tool for a little relaxation.
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