Introduction
It’s Obvious You Won’t Survive By Your Wits Alone is the sixth Dilbert book by author Scott Adams. The tone for the mood of the book is set by Scott Adams in his foreword where he says “I created the first five Dilbert books strictly to earn money. This sixth book is being done for love. Specifically, my love for money.”
The Book
The book is a collection of Dilbert strips. Some of these strips form a series, while some are just stand alone strips. Some of the interesting series in this collection include:
a)
Dilbert goes to jail: Dilbert is accused of killing a top management official and is sent to jail. Now Dilbert has to depend on the legal skills of Dogbert to free him.
b)
Dogbert becomes the ruler of Elbonia: While stealing one of Dilbert’s new inventions, Dogbert accidentally becomes the ruler of Elbonia.
c)
Dilbert becomes a CEO: By removing Excalibert the pencil from it’s sharpener, Dilbert becomes a CEO as per the corporate legend.
d)
Dogbert runs for Presidency: In his quest to rule over the world, Dogbert runs for the US Presidency.
e)
Dogbert sues Dilbert: Dogbert sues Dilbert for Petimony for petting the neighbour’s cat!!
Apart from these there are the usual schemes of the Pointy Haired Boss to steal the fun out of the lives of his employees, while Wally, Dilbert and other co-workers continue to fight for their freedom. Dogbert also continues his quest for takeover of the world.
Critic’s Viewpoints
It’s Obvious You Won’t Survive By Your Wits Alone was published in 1995, so is pretty early in the evolution of the Dilbert strips. In this book you can see some of the earliest strips and series that Scott Adams published in the Dilbert series. A lot of the current regular characters are either missing or do not have their current identity. For e.g. Wally appears in a lot of strips but in most of the places is referred to by different names. Similarly, Alice is in there, but with a different name and with a more robust body line if you like :).
The strips are humorous and you have fun reading them, but as this just a loosely based collection without a central theme, it is more fun to read it at intervals rather than at one stretch. One disappointing aspect for me is the absence of Catbert which is one of my favorite Dilbert characters. I guess in 1995, Catbert probably did not make it’s debut in the Dilbert series just yet and hence is missing.
Summary
It’s Obvious You Won’t Survive By Your Wits Alone is another humorous offering from the stable of Scott Adams. It is a must have if you are Dilbert fan.
Overall, I will give this book an average 3 star rating.