Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell

Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell
by Illiad" Frazer J.D.

Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell
List Price: $12.95
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $12.94 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Illiad" Frazer J.D.
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-05-15
ISBN: 156592861X
Number of pages: 136
Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Summary of Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell

The follow-up to the highly successful first collection of User Friendly comic strips from O'Reilly & Associates, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell tells the continuing tale of Columbia Internet, "the friendliest, hardest-working and most neurotic little Internet Service Provider in the world." Take three techs, two salespeople, a designer, two executives, a couple of administrative staff, mix in a mischievous Artificial Intelligence and a "dust puppy" born from the innards of a mega server, put them all together in a crowded little office, and you have the makings of one of the most off-beat, original and funny comic strips to come along in years.

"If you ask 20 people what User Friendly is about, you'll get 20 subtly different answers," says the cartoon's creator, J.D. 'Illiad' Frazer. " Some say it's a cartoon about Open Source; some say it's about the rift between technical and nontechnical staff; others say its about the pain that technical people suffer when dealing with the stubbornly unintelligent; some even say that User Friendly is a cartoon about Internet Workers. User Friendly addresses all those issues, but I don't think that's what it's about, strictly speaking. User Friendly's universe revolves around the simple idea that technology brings out both the best and the worst in people, no matter who they are."

User Friendly reads like Dilbert for the Open Source community. With a massive online following, it provides outsiders a light-hearted look at the world of the hard core geek, and allows those who make their living dwelling in this world a chance to laugh at themselves.


I'm very familiar with the Nutshell books, what my pal Van Wolverton calls "propellerhead books," or books for the nerds among us. This is appropriate because nerds appreciate brevity. On the other hand, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell appreciates levity.

I was guessing that maybe the book was about crazy computer scientists. And, in a way, it is! But more accurately, Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell is a collection of the User Friendly cartoon strips, originally published on the Internet at http://www.userfriendly.org/. The fuzzy-headed-with-feet guy on the book's cover is Dust Puppy, the strip's mascot (who is apparently very popular among the propellerheads; a copy of him secretly appears in the game Quake III). Other characters, familiar to anyone who works in high tech, also appear in the comic strip, as well as various foreign agents, domestic spies, and what possibly could be parodies of well-known computer geeks.

The book is funny--the only Nutshell book I've ever laughed at. The illustrations were obviously done on a computer in some bitmap graphics application, but they aren't bad (and don't tell me they're stupid unless you've tried it; it is hard). The humor is often subtle, but I occasionally found myself bursting out laughing. Like Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes, or even Married with Children, it takes a while to soak in the humor, but then it becomes addictive.

I recommend Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell if for no other reason than so you can have a truly funny computer book on your shelf. (Or in the WC, which is where I read it.) There is a follow-on called User Friendly the comic strip, also from O'Reilly. The more you're into technical things, the more you'll appreciate it. --Dan Gookin

Comic Strips Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Comic Strips Books
The Best of Sudhir Dar ImageThe Best of Sudhir Dar
by Sudhir Dar
Penguin Books Australia; Published: 2003-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Petty's Australia - and How It Works ImagePetty's Australia - and How It Works
by Bruce Petty
Penguin Putnam~trade; Published: 1978-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best of Laxman: The Common Man Balances His Budget ImageBest of Laxman: The Common Man Balances His Budget
by R. K. Laxman
Penguin Books Australia; Published: 2000-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.50
Laugh with Laxman ImageLaugh with Laxman
by R.K. Laxman
Penguin Books Australia; Published: 1999-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.47
The " Simpsons " - " Futurama " Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis (The " Simpsons " ) ImageThe " Simpsons " - " Futurama " Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis (The " Simpsons " )
by Matt Groening
HarperCollins Entertainment; Published: 2007-01-02; Paperback; Book
Binky's Guide to Love: A Little Book of Hell by Matt Groening ImageBinky's Guide to Love: A Little Book of Hell by Matt Groening
by Matt Groening
HarperCollins Entertainment; Published: 2006-01-03; Hardcover; Book
Love Is Hell ImageLove Is Hell
by Matt Groening
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2004-01-19; Paperback; Book
Cartoon Workshop ImageCartoon Workshop
by Joel Mishon
Harper Collins; Published: 2003-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.89
Homer Simpson's Guide to Being a Man ImageHomer Simpson's Guide to Being a Man
by Matt Groening
Harper Collins; Published: 2004-12-31; Hardcover; Book
Snoopy: Not Your Average Dog ImageSnoopy: Not Your Average Dog
by Charles M. Schulz
HarperEntertainment; Published: 1996-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $31.99
Similar Books and other products
Never Bite Anything That Bites Back: The Sixteenth Sherman's Lagoon Collection ImageNever Bite Anything That Bites Back: The Sixteenth Sherman's Lagoon Collection
by Jim Toomey
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2011-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops: $12.99
The Root of All Evil ImageThe Root of All Evil
by Illiad, Bob Herbstman
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2001-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.87
Price in other shops: $12.95
Even Grues Get Full: The Fourth User Friendly Collection ImageEven Grues Get Full: The Fourth User Friendly Collection
by Illiad, JD Frazer
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2003-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.17
Price in other shops: $12.95
User Friendly: The Comic Strip ImageUser Friendly: The Comic Strip
by Illiad
O'Reilly Media; Published: 1999-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.86
Price in other shops: $12.95