Book Description
On Friday, May 11, 2001, the world mourned the untimely passing of Douglas Adams, beloved creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, dead of a heart attack at age forty-nine.Thankfully, in addition to a magnificent literary legacy—which includes seven novels and three co-authored works of nonfiction—Douglas left us something more. The book you are about to enjoy was rescued from his four computers, culled from an archive of chapters from his long-awaited novel-in-progress, as well as his short stories, speeches, articles, interviews, and letters.

In a way that none of his previous books could, The Salmon of Doubt provides the full, dazzling, laugh-out-loud experience of a journey through the galaxy as perceived by Douglas Adams. From a boy’s first love letter (to his favorite science fiction magazine) to the distinction of possessing a nose of heroic proportions; from climbing Kilimanjaro in a rhino costume to explaining why Americans can’t make a decent cup of tea; from lyrical tributes to the sublime pleasures found in music by Procol Harum, the Beatles, and Bach to the follies of his hopeless infatuation with technology; from fantastic, fictional forays into the private life of Genghis Khan to extended visits with Dirk Gently and Zaphod Beeblebrox: this is the vista from the elevated perch of one of the tallest, funniest, most brilliant, and most penetrating social critics and thinkers of our time.

Welcome to the wonderful mind of Douglas Adams.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (108)

A mixed bag of goodies
An interesting little volume filled with Adams' musings about a wide-ranging array of topics.Some of the essays and articles here are quite good, and others are, well, not quite so good.But they are all written with Adams' trademark zany wit, and you certainly won't be bored.

The good:
As usual, his observations about the foibles of life, whether it's his mortification about having to wear short pants to school because they didn't make long trousers his size, or the story about the stranger stealing his cookies, are hilarious.And his passionate enthusiasm for his personal values, whether it's technology or the Beatles, shines through in every line and is therefore quite contagious.He has a way of turning a phrase to bring an abstract point down to earth, especially when it comes to his criticism of theism.And some of his analogies between evolution and computer science are quite illuminating, particularly his observation that computer code is analogous to the genetic code in showing how evolution operates by performing simple operations millions of times over.

The bad:
As an amateur biologist, however, Adams does tend to get carried away with the computer analogies--no, Douglas, your baby is not "rebooting."Combine this tendency with his otherwise virtuous enthusiasm, and, like many computer scientists, he carries it to the point of assuming that we are on the verge of creating "artificial intelligence," i.e., that in the near future there will be conscious computers.This failure to distinguish between the biological and the man-made plays right into the theists' hands--after all, that's the basic fallacy behind the argument from design (the Celestial Watchmaker and all that), Adams has just kind of done it in reverse.And his playing at being a naturalist is at times almost embarrassing--like when he wants to ride a manta ray, which would probably be pretty cool, and then feels all stupid when told he can't, or when he hikes to Mount Kilimanjaro in a ridiculous rhino suit (although he does recognize the pretension of telling developing nations that they preserve the resources that Western nations "exploited" during their own development).

As for "The Salmon of Doubt" itself, I haven't read either of the previous Dirk Gently novels yet, but I thought this one was shaping up to be, with more polishing, an interesting book.Of course, in its rough form, and with no ending, it is a bit unsatisfying.Overall, however, this collection is well worth reading, but unless you're an Adams collector you can probably stick with the mass market version (or visit your local library).

Sorry, Douglas, I was disappointed...
Likely never intended for publication, but published anyway (as every famous writer's memoirs and journals are), this is a collection of ideas that Douglas had.I was incredibly disappointed, as it was toted to me as his fragmentary final book.BOO!

Spend your money more wisely, buy Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency series by Douglas or his books about endangered animals.You will get way more out of them.Sorry, Douglas, rest in peace.

If you loved this Douglas Adams you are gonna love this !
I was so glad that there was more Douglas Adams to read, thank god for this book. But now that I have found a book that you will love to read as it is cut from the same laugh riot ilk as any great DA.

It is not science fiction by any means, but if you like Douglas Adams, you are gonna love Pete McCarthy's book "McCarthy's Bar A Journey of Discovery in Ireland".

This is a little known book and I even had to post the photo of this book on Amazon and afterwards came across to post a review of this book for any other Douglas Adams fans as they will be glad that I have shared.

Kind Regards,
Randall

McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland

A look into life in his galaxy
For even a part time Adams fan, this book is golden. Assembled after his death, this book compiles many years or writings and musings, and throws them in with some unfinished works Adams left when he left this galaxy of ours. The book does take some getting used to, as many of the parts are unpolished, and largely in the state the left his mind from, which can be unorganized. Once youget past this, you really can begin to enjoy this. It reveals a deep and complex thought process, and also gives new depth to your views on Adams. I for one was amazed he could write a rather lengthy excerpt about his feelings on his own nose, to a point where I enjoyed reading it. After learning so much of his thought process, the criminal part of this work is that the man himself is gone, and now that you have insight into his life, he has departed.

If you are an Adams fan, this is a must have, no doubt about it.

A river of tears awaits any real Douglas Adams fan
A close friend of Douglas Adams once stated that, when one is reading a book by the author, one feels as if what was written was penned especially for him or her.Douglas Adams' mischievous and insightful humor has caused millions of guffaws, billions of knee-slaps, trillions of snorts, and quadrillions of smiles.Any real fan of Mr. Adams' works will find it hard to keep a dry eye throughout this beautifully arranged ode to the memory of the great author.

A collection of memorial speeches, past writings, short stories, interviews, and one incomplete fiction novel await the listener of this collection.At approximately 8 hours, this collection, narrated by Simon Jones, Christopher Cerf, Richard Dawkins, and Stephen Fry, will make you laugh, cry, think, and remember.

The eulogies will unleash your sadness.The short stories will, however briefly, trigger a newfound appreciation for certain simple things.The interviews will inspire your pursuit of clear thinking.The presentations will take your mind on a, hopefully permanent, tour of the wonders of original thinking.The incomplete novel (whether a new "Hitchhiker" or "Dirk Gentley" book, none can tell) will wake up that seldom-used "intelligent-humor" area of the brain.The overall experience will, however temporarily, change your thinking about life in general.

The only criticism I would levy against this production is its relative brevity.The addition of "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe", although an entertaining short story, feels like a cheap way to extend the book somehow."Young Zaphod" was included in previous collections of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and was thus an unusual addition to this book.However, this is a minor complaint, and is of insufficient import to justify not buying this very moving collection.

REGARDING THE UNABRIDGED AUDIO EDITION:Simon Jones' narration is appropriate on all counts.His erudite enunciation and perfect emphasis would surely earn the approval of this collection's muse--if only he were alive to hear it.Douglas Adams' humor is channeled through the talents of this remarkable voice actor:his skills make even more memorable the sad experience of remembering this genius author, comic, technophile, and luminary.

Fans of DNA:listen to on a good day, or just when you're enjoying a fantastic cup of tea.
DNA newbies who love humor, silliness, and wit:pick up the "Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" first; otherwise, you'll miss many references.
DNA newbies who hate humor, silliness, and wit:please leave your genes in the wastebasket by the door on your way out of this life. ... Read more

Book Description
On a hot night in August 1995 Douglas Adams gave a barnstorming performance to an invited audience at the Almeida Theatre in London. This compact disc is a record of that remarkable event. Douglas gives dramatic solo performances of episodes and passages from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything. Including: How to Fly! Arthur and the Irrational Sofa and much, much, .....more ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Absolutely Brilliant
I have been a fan of the guide for many years now, and its absolutely amazing (and hilarious) to hear it brought to life. Douglas's performance is just incredible to hear. This is a must have for any fan of the guide.

A Douglas Adams fan's must
I bought this for my 17 year old son who is a big Douglas Adams fan.He has listened to it over and over again as he has the Harry Potter books.It is a treat to have the author's performance of a work he loves so much.

Great, but be cautious!
First of all: This is a clear must for Douglas Adams Fans. It is unbelievable how many nuances Adams is able to show in the pieces we've all read a hundred times.

But beware: Retrieval in the Web might give you a list of contents which, although copied correctly from the cover, ist wildly inaccurate.
Neither "How to fly" nor "Dish of the day" actually is on the CD.
Correct List:
- Arthur and the Irrational Sofa
- Agrajag and the Cathedral of Hate
- Marvin and the Frogstar Battle Robot

But still, a good buy! ... Read more

Book Description
When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late-- client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Dirk Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (75)

He wrote some great stuff that wasn't Hitchhiker, too
He really got his non-Hitchhiker groove on here and wrote a thoroughly enjoyable, imaginative, and thought-provoking novel that will have you turning pages from start to finish. You don't even have to read the first Dirk Gently first if you don't want to. Just go grab this, dive in, and enjoy. I gave more words to the first one, but this one's better.

Do not buy the CD set!
I love Douglas Adams, and I love to hear his recordings of his books.
I like The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul well enough to have worn out my audio tapes.
I bought the CD version, but disk 6 is a messed up recording. It starts repeating parts and pieces of the same chapter over and overand never gets to the end of the book.The end of the story is not included on the last disk.I am not the only one to have found it so. You will be left hanging.

Not Free SF Reader
Still odd, this private investigator.


This is much of a muchness with the last book, but the act wears thing after having it done the first time around.Dirk still has dodgy fridge hygiene.The plot if you want to call it that this time has to do with a possible deity, some blowing up of stuff including people, and an annoying album also features.

The Not Long Enough, Not Dark Enough Decaf Tea Time of the Soul
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul is a mostly enjoyable book in Douglas Adams typical style, but it is uncharacteristically soul-less.The book begins, as books are wont to do, by introducing us to a cast of seemingly unconnected characters living seemingly unconnected lives filled with seemingly unconnected events.As the book progresses, these characters, their aforementioned lives, and the aforementioned events come together in strange and mostly interesting ways.The story moves along well enough until near the end.As I read, I eventually reached a point where there were very few pages left to read, and there was still a great deal of explaining left to do.At this point I suspected that the book would end with either; A) A less than adequate explanation for the plot points, or; B) A great deal of explanation jammed into the remaining few pages.Sadly, it turned out to be both.I would like to be able to recommend this work based on the first 7/8ths of the book.But, the final 1/8th of the book goes a long way toward overwhelming the preceeding pages with a hurried, splotchy, and unsatisfying climax.I rarely feel that any book could benefit from actually being longer, but that is indeed the case with Adams' TLDTTOTS.It seems as if the author reached a certain point in the writing process, then lost interest in the project, and wrapped it up as quickly as possible, throwing quality to the wind.If you like Douglas Adams other works, you will probably like this one.If you're not an Adams fan, the ending will leave you feeling decaffinated.

typical wit, but ending lacks steam
About the first 75% of this book was full of typical Adams' unpredictable wit, peculiar characters and the most unusual situations ever drempt of. This is why I read Adams' - refreshing to read something which isn't so cold and lacking subplots, which are typically hilarious.

However, the last 25% seemed to be lacking everything one expects from an Adams' novel. The first Holisitc Detective Agency book was much better in regards to cover to cover wit. Long Dark Tea-time just lost all of its steam once it came to the three-quarters point. It was too descriptive and at the same time lacking any humor in the description. It would have been easy to hack out a few of the ending chapters.

Disappointed. ... Read more

Book Description
At last in paperback in one complete volume, here are the five classic novels from Douglas Adams’s beloved Hitchiker series.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.

Life, the Universe and Everything
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky– so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.

Mostly Harmless
Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (111)

great book
this book is the comp of the douglas adams series hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. it is hilarious well written and something just to put your imagination to work.

I love it!
All the books plus a separate story together in one volume! What else could I wish for? If you enjoyed the movie, (okay, okay, there are always some differences between movie and book) you are going to love the books. It's that kind of ironic humour that makes you laugh through intelligent remarks, not silly statements.

Wonderful!
The Hitchhiker's guide is funny and completely odd, but smart.This combination makes it a very different reading experience, it really does not have that much in the way of story of plot development, but the writing is just so fantastic and smart. It may not be a long read, but it is a more complex read then it seems.Its not for everyone and it may help to know that it is a strange ride to begin with.Remember DON'T PANIC and don't forget your towel.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 5-Volume Collection
These books are still as funny as they were when I read them in school 25 years ago.

Bought the compendium for my wife as an Xmas gift, she had seen the movie but had not read the books. In the first week she read 2 of them, couldn't put it down.

If you are anything but a Fox news viewing NASCAR mark, you will love the dry and slightly sarcastic humor in Douglas Adam's work.

Inspired lunacy
Possibly the best sci-fi comedy ever written.But toward the end of the series, it becomes so much more, as great plotting and rich characterization are thrown into the mix.

The first two books are just plain lunacy, short on plotting, but heavy on Adams' great comic dialogue and wacky sci-fi premises (three stars each).The third is just as crazy,but with the added bonus of a plot thrown in!And Arthur actually saves the universe for good measure (four stars).The fourth and fifth novels are much richer in characterization, and continue the great plotting of the third (four stars each).You can see my reviews of the individual books for more detail, but to make a long story short, this is definitely a series not to be missed! ... Read more

Book Description
It all started when Douglas Adams demolished planet Earth in order to make way for an intergalactic expressway–and then invited everyone to thumb a ride on a comical cosmic road trip with the likes of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and the other daft denizens of deep space immortalized in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams made the universe a much funnier place to inhabit and forever changed the way we think about towels, extraterrestrial poetry, and especially the number 42. And then, too soon, he was gone.

Just who was this impossibly tall Englishman who wedded science fiction and absurdist humor to create the multimillion-selling five-book “trilogy” that became a cult phenomenon read round the world? Even if you’ve dined in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, you’ve been exposed to only a portion of the offbeat, endearing, and irresistible Adams mystique. Have you met the only official unofficial member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus? The very first person to purchase a Macintosh computer? The first (and thus far only) author to play a guitar solo onstage with Pink Floyd? Adams was also the writer so notorious for missing deadlines that he had to be held captive in a hotel room under the watchful eye of his editor; the creator of the epic computer game Starship Titanic; and a globetrotting wildlife crusader.

A longtime friend of the author, Nick Webb reveals many quirks and contradictions: Adams as the high-tech-gadget junkie and lavish gift giver . . .irrepressible ham and painfully timid soul . . . gregarious conversationalist and brooding depressive . . . brilliant intellect and prickly egotist. Into the brief span of forty-nine years, Douglas Adams exuberantly crammed more lives than the most resilient cat–while still finding time and energy to pursue whatever side projects captivated his ever-inquisitive mind.

By turns touching, tongue-in-cheek, and not at all timid about telling the warts-and-all truth, Wish You Were Here is summation as celebration– a look back at a life well worth the vicarious reliving, and studded with anecdote, droll comic incident, and heartfelt insight as its subject’s own unforgettable tales of cosmic wanderlust. For the countless fans of Douglas Adams and his unique and winsome world, here is a wonderful postcard: to be read, reread, and treasured for the memories it bears.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

An excellent book about an excellent subject
This book really made me want to put it down and reread THE SALMON OF DOUBT by Douglas Adams instead. Since I still have THE SALMON OF DOUBT, I will reread it. That's why I still have it.

WISH YOU WERE HERE. The Prologue was so boring that I didn't feel like reading any further. But I love Douglas Adams and the book is roughly 350 pages, so I decided I'd read at least 35 of them before I quit. Not the best way to read a book, is it? The information about Adams is good, but there was something I just wasn't liking. At page 75, I felt ready to describe what it was.

1) Nick Webb, obviously a fan who "gets it" regarding Douglas Adams, tries to be irreverently humorous in the Douglas Adams style, with footnotes worthy of Terry Pratchett. One reviewer, quoted on the back cover, feels it's an effort worthy of Adams. I just find it tedious. Long-winded, pointless, and distracting, because Douglas Adams he ain't. 350 pages could be 250 pages if he'd just get on with it.

2) Webb rightly concludes that some biographies, such as this one, can be told better if strict chronology is abandoned. But then he doesn't tell it better because he knows so much more about his subject than we do. He needed a good solid edit by someone barely familiar with Douglas Adams who would only see what's on the paper, not what's in Webb's head. Without such an editor, I don't always know what Webb's talking about. I can figure it out later, but I don't want to work that hard. I want to enjoy reading about Douglas Adams. Yes, they were in a hurry to get this published as soon after the great man's death as possible -- so long and thanks for all the money -- but editing matters. This book cries out for it.

3) Webb drops names of every British celebrity he can and just assumes we'll all know who these people are. We don't. Some of us are too young, some of us are too old, and some of us aren't British. So unless they contribute something to the story, why confuse us? When I read, I don't want laundry lists. We're all buying this book to read about the man on the cover, Douglas Adams. The only shopping list I'll read is my own. Write, dammit!

With those two reflections formed in my mind, I felt ready to persevere to the end. Again, it's about Douglas Adams. And so are quite a few wonderful Wikipedia entries, I'm sure. I wish the author, the publisher, and the friends and family of Douglas Adams had worked a little harder to raise a book about the man above that level.

After I wrote the above paragraphs, I resumed my reading and positively fell in love. I kept finding spots where I wanted to grab Jan and repeat stuff to her. The style started clicking and it was everything I wanted it to be. I felt Douglas Adams coming through loud and clear on every page, as he damn well should. Congrats to the biographer for a job well done. So what the hell happened before? Padding added later to reach an arbitrary word count? Is this the price I pay for pre-ordering it before publication? (Yeah, it's been on my shelf a long time.)

So I guess my advice is to buy a later printing, maybe a paperback, at which point one hopes it's been edited another time or two. It's a great book about a great man, written well and a pleasure to read. Oh, and get A SALMON OF DOUBT too. It may Douglas Adams' finest work, even though it was assembled from his notes after his death. I wish I was that editor.

Not your average biography
Biographies are written every day, but not everyone deserves one (i.e. Hollywood talentless starlets, hairy 80s rock stars etc. etc.). Douglas Adams , on the other hand, is a right person in this case - he had it all - wit, talent and lust for discovery. While purely British slang and references will most likely be lost on European and American readers, there's still a lot of interesting facts about Mr. Adams in Nick Webb book. He's presenting Adams as an intelligent and very tactful man, not without his faults, but very interesting person nonetheless. I'm sure that Mr. Adams would've been proud of this biography.

A widely shared sentiment
It's a rare treat to find a book where every paragraph is a delight to read.And that's not counting the ones by Douglas Adams himself."Wish You Were Here" is a testimony to a giant of a man - outsized in more ways than one.At over 196 centimetres, Adams was an intimidating figure.It's even more intimidating to encounter the breadth of his mentality.As Webb explains, Adams developed an incipient interest in science, became a proficient [if spendthrift] guitarist and learned just how final extinction is.He was a man attracted to new ideas, even to the extent of creating an Internet company that went beyond just being another dot.com.His personal interests were equally wide and intense. Given how soon after Adams' death this book was published, it's remarkably complete and sensitive to the survivors.

If he'd done nothing but HHGG, Adams would be fondly remembered.As Webb notes often, Adams was too inventive and broad-minded to be limited to a single theme.Still, when you start off by considering the universe, you can only scale downward.Webb, who has a fine humorous style of his own, follows the life and tribulations of Adams with careful attention.He understands, as a flexible publisher should, that the craft of writing and production schedules are an uneasy liaison.The legends of Adams ability to procrastinate are common, but Webb points out that Adams' desire for perfection in his craft was at least as strong as his receptivity to diversion.His friends were nearly as important as his writing, and a long, liquidy lunch was both pleasurable and intellectually stimulating.Webb's own discussions with his subject were as often about deep philosophical questions as about the business of publishing.

The author demonstrates how fervently Adams sought to have HHGG transposed into film.It's almost disappointing to note that no British firm was even approached to undertake the task.Given that the BBC-TV production was such a success, even though Adams himself felt disappointed in it, filming it there might have boosted the industry in the UK.Hollywood's special effects seemed to hold sway, even though BBC-TV's production was done with "old-fashioned" transparencies.That the film was made, even to mixed reviews, is one of the deep and tragic ironies of this account.Adams was unwilling or unable to perceive the vagaries of dealing with the Hollywood moguls.He wasn't a screenwriter - his first draft proved far too lengthy - and making the transition proved endlessly difficult.

Adams' legacy is enduring, as Webb notes in his conclusion.Answer any question with "42" and you will almost certainly be granted a smile of recognition.The conversation will turn to favourite scenes or characters.Hitchhiker's [and the placement of the inverted comma remains a subject of discussion] was a phenomenon.Such things don't easily fade away.Webb is to be congratulated for helping perpetrate the marvel of Adams, even if the image is a bit smudged.The author makes a sincere effort to trace the origins of his subject's thinking, but much of that remains anonymous.That Richard Dawkins was a strong influence is now a given, but other sources likely lie in Adams own reading regimen.It wasn't Dawkins who put Adams on to astrophysics, one assumes.Little shortcomings of this sort don't detract from the immense value of this work.Webb's skills as an author, and one with such affinity for his subject more than overcome whatever might be lacking.It's a tribute to Adams, his circle of friends and to all us readers alike.[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Telling the Good & the Bad...
In 1965, at the age of twelve, he was so taken with the boys' comic, 'Eagle,' and Dan Dare, an intrepid space pilot whose origins lay in the fighter aces of WWII; week by week, he would fight to save the universe from evil.His major work published in 1979, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, grew out of that fascination.

First, it started as a radio series in March, 1978, in England which evolved into a stage production by the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool.It was published in October, 1979, with an initial run of 60,000 copies, which sold instantly.Pan Publishers "reprinted and reprinted again, then again.Within three months the book had sold a quarter of a million units, the first hundred thousand in only four weeks, and it had been number one in the 'Sunday Times' paperback bestseller list since publication.It was reviewed everywhere.Philip Oakes interviewed Douglas at length in the all-important 'Sunday Times' and it was an instant success."

It became a cult phenomenon read around the world.It "proves mathematically that there is nothing in the universe.If the universe is, as many cosmologists believe, infinite then any quantity; no matter how chunky, divided by infinity tends to zero.Confusingly there are many different varieties of infinity recognized by mathematicians, and many physicists believe that the univrese is finite but unbounded, a counter-intuitive notion" which demands further pondering.This is just the thing Douglas enjoyed discussing.

Written by the former editor of Pan Books, a good long-time friend of Douglas Adams who received his first Golden Pan for one million copies sold of the book in 1984, the same year he created a computer game of "Hitchhiker's Universe."A series of "universe" books followed, the trilogy being THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE (1980), LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING (1982), and SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH (1984).In 1994, an unabridged (6-hour) Talking Books version of all the "Hitchhiker's" novels was issued by Isis."Douglas reads them himself with great panache."He also created another computer game, 'Starship Titanic.'

"Of life, the universe and everything, it's life such as extraordinary predicament of matter.As far as we can tell, it's hugely outnumbered by inanimate material.Einstein said that the greatest mystery of the universe is that we can comprehend it."He was a fan of the rock music groups of the 60s.In the photo section, he is shown with his collection of twenty-four left-handed guitars and playing one of them with Pink Floyd's group on his 42nd birthday.

He especially liked Procol Harum's "Grand Hotel" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (one of my favorites which dominated the singles charts in 1967).In 1996, he declared, "I have loved Gary Brooker and Procol Harum ever since nearly thirty years ago when they suddenly surprised the world by leaping absolutely out of nowhere with one of the biggest hit records ever done by anybody at all ever under any circumstances.They then surprised the world even more by suddenly turning out to be from Southend (England) and not from Detroit as everybody thought."

Douglas died in May, 2001, in California where the movie was in the works."It is an irony too obvious to labor that the film is once again on the stocks and looking more probable than at any moment in the last twenty years."Finally, in 2003, even after a quarter of a century, a fine tribute was paid to THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY when it was "selected by the British public as one of its all-time top one hundred reads in BBC TV's 'The Big Read; indeed it was in the top ten.This book is as fresh today as when he wrote it so painfully all those years ago."

Kevin Davies was more than a fan.Not only did his timely intrusion help Pearce Studios with the graphics contract, he produced the props for the ill-fated Rainbow Theatre show and was closely involved in the creation of THE ILLUSTRATED HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.He also produced and directed THE MAKING OF THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.The movie was filmed by Disney/Spyglass Entertainment productions with the Jim Henson Workshop designing the robot; released in 2005 starring Martin Freeman (Adams had wanted Hugh Grant) and a large cast -- a fitting tribute to the author.He was listed in the credits as a producer.

Wish you were still here
I have read every book published under Douglas Adams' name.I read WISH YOU WERE HERE because Douglas Adams (DNA) is one of my favorite authors and I feel that his death is a tremendous loss to the art of the written word. But unlike most his devoted readers, my favorite DNA novel is THE LONG DARK TEA TIME OF THE SOUL. I have read it more times than I can count.Why?

During my life as student, I was compelled to study systems theory. The systems theory developers have a very long tradition of being terrible writers - making systems theory much more complex than it should be. I struggled though reading Parsons, Pinus and Minihan - among many others. When I became a college professor, I did my best to clarify systems theory to my students. It was at that time; I read THE LONG DARK TEA TIME OF THE SOUL and learned that Dirk Gently employs an ecological systems model in his search for the truth. I had an epiphany.My mind became clear and I was able to explain systems theory in a coherent manner.DNAs' language and application of this theoretical framework enabled me to become a more effective professor. In the early days of email (circa 1987-89), I emailed DNA to explain how I was employing his novel in the classroom. I was absolutely shocked. He replied to me and wanted more information. His email was a real thrill!

Webb does a excellent job of drawing a picture of the creator of Dirk Gently, Ford Prefect, and Zaphod Beeblebrox (among others). I enjoyed and was quite surprised to learn about Adams' approach to writing. As a reader, his writing appears to be an effortless joy, but he struggled to write. The effect of his father on his writing and lifestyle was both intriguing and insightful. The reader will immediately recognize the admiration that Webb has for Adams and become acutely aware of the pain the author feels with Adams' departure. I deeply miss him also.

Lastly, I fear that the publisher is doing a very poor job of marketing it. I only learned about WISH YOU WERE HERE because it was given to me as a gift. I hope that Amazon will use their data base to let SF readers know about this fine biography.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (56)

Great Book, Great price
I got this book in a very short amount of time, (4 days) and it came in good condition. The book comes new, and has a card with info on it.worth the price. good buy.

Hitchhiker's Guide
This book is absolutely gorgeous!A real collector's item.I bought 3 as gifts, but I'm keeping one for myself.

Excellent edition of an excellent book
A must for any fan of the series, or any one looking to become one.

hitchhikers guide
I've read about 3 versions of the same book and this is the finest. It has the leather like binder that makes it look like a literay classic. All it needed was a imprint in bold red letter don't panic on the back.

The Total Package
Simply outstanding.A beautiful bound book suitable for this brilliant series.Even my wife kept saying that it looked like a Bible.That just makes it funnier if you're a fan of Douglas Adams.

Hightly recommended and the price makes it a steal.

- John Frantz
Oxford, PA ... Read more

Book Description
"Very funny and moving...The glimpses of rare fauna seem to have enlarged [Adams'] thinking, enlivened his world; and so might the animals do for us all, if we were to help them live."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Join bestselling author Douglas Adams and zooligist Mark Carwardine as they take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Hilarious and poignant--as only Douglas Adams can be--LAST CHANCE TO SEE is an entertaining and arresting odyssey through the Earth's magnificent wildlife galaxy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (171)

Amazing
This book is extremely hard to find outside of Amazon which is a real shame because this is definitely one of Adams' greatest, one that is not only absolutely hilarious but that reveals his own amazing character and interests in a profound way.

If you are an Adams fan at all or just liked the Hitchhiker Guide you really need this book, I'm thinking about becoming a zoologist after reading this but I expect they are not as funny.

Great read!
Great and witty read as only Douglas Adams seems to be able to. Really sad that he is no longer around to write more gems like this!

Ignacio

A Favorite For Many
The publishers of this book were brilliant to get Douglas Adams (RIP) to accompany zoologist, Mark Carwardine, to "document" their journey and experiences visiting animals in danger of extinction. He gives you a good laugh and lots of fascinating information. This is a great book for young and old alike. I can't recommend it enough.

So long, Baiji (and Douglas too)
Being a fan of Douglas Adams, I picked up this book right away...and I personally consider it to be his best work.The world of conservation is not often viewed at from a light-hearted perspective, and this book allows readers to ease into serious topics with an infusion of humour.The people they meet, th experiences, the descriptions of the animal kingdom all point to a world that is quirky and loveable.

It was announced in the newspaper a few days ago that the Baiji dolphin has been written off as extinct...I would love to read a follow-up to see what happened with the sanctuary.Unfortunately Douglas has passed on as well, so an update is unlikely.

I can't recommend this book enough.

Goodbye, Baiji Dolphin
I just finished reading this book last night.As I went to sleep I thought, "I should really check up on these animals tomorrow and see how they are doing."Today they announce that the Baiji Dolphin is functionally extinct.I'm too sick for words.

It's a wonderful book, probably my favorite of Douglas Adams' collection. ... Read more

Book Description
"DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."
--The Washington Post Book World
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.
Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
--Detroit Free Press


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (113)

The Insain Book of Nonsense

Review of
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
By Mid-Prairie Teen


Arthur Dent, Trillian (the last humans in the universe), Marvin (a depressed robot), Ford Perfect (Dent's Friend), and Zaphood Bebblebrox (ex-hippie, ex- galactic president) are in for another crazy wacky adventure. After the explosion of the black ship and the separating of the friends, we rejoin Arthur on Earth 2.0. His friend Ford is no where around and he decide to go mad and he thinks he sees Ford over him. "I tried that," stated Ford, "but I discovered that one must not decide to go mad, but to decide to let him be overcome by insanity."
Is this the real Ford Perfect, do the friends ever reunite, do they ever learn to fly, and will Zaphood ever find his soul? So many questions that may, or may not, are answered as you read.
This is not a book for those who need to understand a book to enjoy it. If one tries their head would probably explode. This book is for the people who read a book for other reasons. The insanely loopy paths this book takes and the reversed, jumbled, nonsense words make this book purely hilarious. Douglas Adams my have outdone himself with this book, the craziness in this book is so well sloped together that he has mad a wok of art.
This book has draw backs of course; the share of mild language, sexual jokes, and religious mockery makes it unsuitable for young readers. But other than that it is a great book for most readers.

Warning:
Attempted understanding of this book may cause serious damage to your mind. Cases of head explosions and mental shutdown have been noted.
Read with caution!!

Even weirder than the first
A seance to communicate with Zaphod's dead grandfather?A ruler of the universe who doesn't believe in the existence of the universe?A talking cow begging to be slaughtered?Ford Prefect staggeringly drunk for half the novel?The long-awaited return of the Messiah just before the end of the universe?How do these elements fit into a science-fiction novel?

Well, they don't.This follow-up suffers from the same problem as the first Hitchhiker's Guide book (though to a slightly lesser extent), namely, the episodic nature of the story.To be sure, this one has a slightly more coherent plot than the first, but there are a lot of pointless (and sometimes lengthy) digressions.Some of them (the Messiah bit, for instance), are very funny, but some of them, well, aren't.Adams is funnier when he doesn't try to do philosophy.The cow that wants to be eaten isn't nearly so amusing nor thought-provoking as Adams apparently intended it to be, and the solipsistic philosopher-king is just stupid.And again, as in the first book, one is not too sure when Adams is doing satire or when he's being serious, but there are some disturbing indications (the protagonists, for instance, feel quite good about the inane ramblings of the philosopher-king, while the bad guys are quite appalled by him).

However, the book also shares some of the first book's virtues, such as Adams' knack for hilarious dialogue, and his great science fiction premises like the restaurant itself and the supernova concert finale (despite also throwing in garbage like seances).

On the whole, definitely worth a read, especially as a preliminary to the rest of the series--which, on the whole, gets better from here.

Second verse, same as the first
After a side-splitting debut in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Adams produces more of the same frivolity in this second installment.It has the same randomness and wittiness from his first book that won him such a large fan base.The mostly pointless story continues as Adams showcases his unique sense of humor.I didn't find it to be as good as the original, but if you liked the first one, you'll enjoy this volume.

Not Free SF Reader
Meat isn't murder if it likes it, and loud music nearby can be bad for real estate a well as for the prices.Also, even the biggest and most expensive computer projects are easy to screw up, right up until the end.

Anyway, the sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is almost as enjoyable as the first book, which is a fairly impressive achievement.

another great part of the hitchhiker series
not quite as good as parts 1 and 3, but great none the less. ... Read more

Book Description
There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time traveler, AND the devastating secret of humankind! Detective Gently's bill for saving the human race from extinction: NO CHARGE.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (85)

One of my all-time favorites
I actually bought this as a replacement for an older hard-back copy that started falling apart (due to excessive lending).Though the Hitchhiker's Guide the Galaxy is considered Douglas Adams' quintessential work, this is probably my favorite single book of his... mainly because nearly every subtle detail in the story somehow becomes relevant to plot.It's both insanely funny and extremely intelligent at the same time.

But, before reading, it might be a good idea to refresh your memory about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his writing of The Ballad of Kubla Kahn.Explaining why would likely reveal too much of the plot.

The Fundamental Interconnectedness of All Things
This book is crazy and nothing can be expected from this "holistic" detective story. There is mystery, exploration, suspense, and interesting characters. Douglas Adams has the comic science fictional feel of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy but is a completely different category of book. It is a mystery that seems more "down to earth" while still being crazy and sensless.

The comedy is less abundant and deeper than the Hitchhikers Guide series. The characters of Dirk Gently follow the same sort of pattern as in being deeper and not the comical ones of HG. They are still amusing and fun to read about and the situations they get in are comical. The book jumps around from perspective to perspective and all are fun to read; you will rarely find yourself hoping to for this section to end.

First you find yourself with an outdated electric monk (programmed to believe anything) on a distant planet. This monk rides around on a horse that really wants to be free. This monk is different because he is starting to feel doubt in the things he believes in.

Next, all of a sudden your back on Earth with a man named Richard McDuff. Richard is a computer programmer for Way Forward Technologies. His boss, Gordon Way, is his girlfriend's (Susan) brother. He is falling behind on a program when his boss is mysteriously murdered. Richard is wanted for questioning when he runs into Dirk Gently.

Dirk is a detective that investigates crimes through the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. He claims to specialize in missing cats and messy divorces. This would seem like an interesting way to scam old ladies whose cats have gone missing if they would ever pay him. Dirks role in the book is to help Richard find out what's going on and what happened to Gordon.

Dirk hypnotizes Richard to find out all he knows. When he is done the two things (that arguably have nothing to do with Gordon's death) that he is most concerned with are Reg's trick and how Richard scaled a wall to get a tape recording from Susan. He also makes him do the most hilarious thing (that I wont spoil for you) in order to explain the second thing he found interesting. The rest of the book is their expedition to figure things out and they defiantly find the unexpected.

I really thought this book was great. It showed that he could write things other than the Hitchhiker's Guide. It may be confusing at times but if your patient with the beginning it will unfold.

Douglas Adams wrote some great books that weren't Hitchhiker too
When I first saw this in the public library, many many years ago, I was afraid. I'd just finished SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, the fourth installment of the Hitchhiker's Trilogy, and my favorite. (The fifth didn't exist yet.) I was afraid I'd be disappointed by this detour. Then I read the cover blurbs, and it sounded horrid. I put it back on the shelf and found something else. My loss. But now, well, my gain, so hah!

I thought it was little slow getting started, or maybe I was -- it happens to the best readers sometimes. But it's an enjoyable page-turner, combining his trademark humor, imagination, fun, creativity, philosophy, and an honest-to-gosh story that hangs together, peopled by honest-to-gosh people. Pay attention because it's very satisfying. Same thing he did in Hitchhiker 4 before it and Hitchhiker 5 after it. The two Hitchhikers which began as novels rather than radio scripts, by the way. I've gotta hit the bookstores again looking for the sequel to this. THE LONG DARK TEA TIME OF THE SOUL. Douglas Adams has hooked me all over again, and it's a great feeling.

And again, I had to wait for the guy to die to rediscover him. On the one hand it's kinda cruel how I do that, but on the other it gives me hope that somebody will read my own scribblings after I die.

All in a Day's Work
Douglas Adams made a name for himself with his ever expanding trilogy "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which has spawned six books.His writing is a unique blend of wit, humor, philosophy, psychology and sheer silliness that is hard to duplicate."Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" is a quick-paced, often laugh-out-loud funny trip through time and some absolutely impossible story lines.

Richard MacDuff is an up and coming computer programmer, under pressure from his boss, and on the verge of losing his girlfriend because he immerses himself so completely in his work that he loses track of time.When a trip back to his old college at Cambridge goes awry, Richard finds himself seeking out an old college pal, the infamous Dirk Gently who now runs a detective agency that specializes in 'finding' lost pets and sending bills to clients with outrageous charges on them.For Richard's boss has been murdered, and Richard believes himself to be a suspect, and allows Dirk to help him uncover a mystery that includes time travel, a murderous ghost, and saving the human race from extinction.

Douglas Adams is a master at interweaving several different plotlines that seem disconnected into a simple concoction by novel's end."Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" is full of his trademark wit and humor, but seems a little too off course, like his later "Hitchhiker" books.All in all, it is an enjoyable read, that even with its out-of-this-world plotlines, still manages to speak to life in today's world.

Not Free SF Reader
Oddballs, including the private investigator.


Yep, I tried this book because I liked the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and probably needn't have bothered, as it was only ok.Some more of the odd sort of things happening, but not in a funny way, really, as the titular character looks into the bizarre actions of a friend, and the strange goings on that may tie everything together.


... Read more

Book Description
It's not just a trilogy any more. In the fifth book of this popular series, Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, and immediately all hell breaks loose. In short, it's up to him to save the world from total multi-dimensional obliteration, the Guide from a hostile alien takeover, and the daughter he never knew he had, from herself. A tall order, to say the least. And one he's really not up to, thank you very much.
"Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist....He is anything but harmless."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Mostly satisfying
The unfortunately final entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide series is also perhaps the best.

There are some grounds for complaint. Adams' summarily writing out Fenchurch was disappointing, though necessary to make this story work. And the ending is decidedly bleak--yes, even worse than when Arthur and Ford were stranded on prehistoric Earth at the end of book two. There is some indication that Adams wouldn't have left the series ending this way had his life not been tragically cut short, but now we'll never know.

However, despite the occasionally dark tone, Adams' trademark zany humor runs throughout to help counterbalance it, and the plotting here nicely resolves threads introduced in several earlier entries in surprising ways. And as with Arthur's relationship with Fenchurch in the previous book, his relationship with his teenage daughter Random in this one adds new dimensions to his character, and shows that Adams is capable of genuine insight in addition to outright hilarity.

The new Guide is appropriately sinister, Old Thrashbarg and the Perfectly Normal Beast and the aliens who've lost their minds are very funny, and best (or worst?) of all, the Vogons are back! Adams somehow manages to expertly juggle all of these plotlines through complex and potentially confusing travel through time and multi-dimensional space. That in and of itself is an achievement. He packs an awful lot of value into such slim volumes.

If only there had been more!

Martin Freeman's narration is quite appropriate and enjoyable--but I can't compare it to Adams' own, as I haven't heard that version yet, so take it for what it's worth.

Good, but try to find the author's original reading
When I gave this edition a listen, I had hoped Martin Freeman would be an entertaining reader, given his involvement with the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie. I had previously heard another edition of this book in cassette tape form, read by the author himself (Douglas Adams). Sadly, Freeman doesn't quite stack up to Adams in the narration department; his timing with the humorous text pales in comparison to the author's. I'd recommend (and will) finding the edition read, unabridged, by Douglas Adams. That's not to say that this edition is bad by any means. The material is still great, arguably the best in the Hitchhiker's series, I simply preferred the book-on-tape edition as read by the author.

A hilarious, zany tale evolves.
Douglas Adams' MOSTLY HARMLESS receives an outstanding reading by Martin Freeman, who has narrated other Adams titles before and who lends consistency and an excellent form to this story of one Arthur, who may be the only one to save Earth from obliteration. A hilarious, zany tale evolves. Both are top recommendations for any leisure lending audio collection. ... Read more

Book Description
"DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."
--The Washington Post Book World
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.
Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
--Detroit Free Press


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Even weirder than the first
A seance to communicate with Zaphod's dead grandfather? A ruler of the universe who doesn't believe in the existence of the universe? A talking cow begging to be slaughtered? Ford Prefect staggeringly drunk for half the novel? The long-awaited return of the Messiah just before the end of the universe? How do these elements fit into a science-fiction novel?

Well, they don't. This follow-up suffers from the same problem as the first Hitchhiker's Guide book (though to a slightly lesser extent), namely, the episodic nature of the story. To be sure, this one has a slightly more coherent plot than the first, but there are a lot of pointless (and sometimes lengthy) digressions. Some of them (the Messiah bit, for instance), are very funny, but some of them, well, aren't. Adams is funnier when he doesn't try to do philosophy. The cow that wants to be eaten isn't nearly so amusing nor thought-provoking as Adams apparently intended it to be, and the solipsistic philosopher-king is just stupid. And again, as in the first book, one is not too sure when Adams is doing satire or when he's being serious, but there are some disturbing indications (the protagonists, for instance, feel quite good about the inane ramblings of the philosopher-king, while the bad guys are quite appalled by him).

However, the book also shares some of the first book's virtues, such as Adams' knack for hilarious dialogue, and his great science fiction premises like the restaurant itself and the supernova concert finale (despite also throwing in garbage like seances).

On the whole, definitely worth a read, especially as a preliminary to the rest of the series--which, on the whole, gets better from here.

Martin Freeman's deadpan (except for when he's doing Beeblebrox) narration is quite appropriate and enjoyable--but I can't compare it to Adams' own, as I haven't heard that version yet, so take it for what it's worth. ... Read more

Book Description
"HYSTERICAL!"
--The Philadelphia Inquirer
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads--so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the white killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.
They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler, who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vicepresident of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head honcho of the Universe; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.
How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it--and don't know it!
"ADAMS IS ONE OF THOSE RARE TREASURES: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading."
--The Arizona Daily Star


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (103)

Even better than the first two
One of the better installments in the Hitchhiker's Guide series, this one has a much-improved plot over the first two, which is simultaneously self-contained (if you take for granted the opening set-up) and plays an important role in the wider story of the series.

Adams does continue the somewhat strange practice of throwing in random bits that aren't so much "science"-fiction as just pure nonsense--Agrajag's ongoing reincarnation and coincidental persecution at the hands of Arthur, for instance, or Arthur's learning to fly, or Thor.But as silly as some of these elements are, they are done much better this time around, and actually relevant to the story (both in this book and in the series as a whole).In general, there are far fewer disconnected episodes here in which it seems that Adams is just ranting; instead, everything fits naturally into the story, a clear mark of good plotting.That's not to say that there aren't any plot-holes, or that the story doesn't take completely wild veering turns, but that suits the nature of the work just fine.

This book continues Adams' trademark off-the-wall humor, but in new even wilder forms, and to great effect.The main self-contained story about the planet Krikkit is great, and all of the side-stories tie in quite nicely, with the one exception of Zaphod's endless sulking, which does grow tiresome after a while.Another sub-plot involving the longest party in the universe excellently brings the various characters' storylines together toward the end.And of course, everybody loves Agrajag.

Nothing new here
Adams continues to produce laughs here, but this volume begins to repackage material from the first two books.You have the same type of jokes, situations, randomness and plot twists here from the previous books.While those things were hilarious the first time around, they lose some of their impact on the second and third helpings.Fans of the series will enjoy this volume, but I found it to be less satisying than the first two novels in the series.While I've enjoyed the journey so far, this book does not motivate me sufficiently to read the rest of the series.I can only recommend this book if you loved the first two.

Not Free SF Reader
Throw yourself at the ground and miss.If you can't, don't whine about it.

Unfortunately the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book is nowhere near as entertaining as the first two installments.The tone of it changes considerably to somewhat this side of maudlin, apart from the odd entertaining piece like the flying, and insulting the galaxy in order, or a bit of Clockwork Orange inspired cricket.

classic
I couldn'd ask for more, to me this was the funniest of the hitchhiker's trilogy

I will finish this book, I will finish this book, I will finish...
I have never reviewed a book that I have not yet finished.I respectfully admit that a book review should remain within the privileged realm of those whom have actually completed the book. However, the fact that I have picked this book up at least a dozen times and find it very hard to complete (considering I am a very quick reader and could probably finish War and Peace during a few bathroom visits is testament to the fact that I am having a very hard time with this book).I loved the first Hitchhiker's book and am just as passionate over Restaurant at the End of the Universe which are probably among my top favorite books of all time.I admit there are a couple of serious chuckles along the way but,WHAT HAPPENED?The genius is still there to be sure and I'd like to think I can follow the plot but there just doesn't seem to be any reason to want to follow along.It's not exactly "Vogon poetry" but compared to the brilliance of the first two, I am disappointed.I really want to like this book more and really hope that it gets better. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Good but I was looking for a different Douglas Adams
The book makes some humorous observations illuminating paradoxes in the bible.While its entertaining, I had originally thought it was written by the Douglas Adams who wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it is not.

Warning
This was a great book. I picked this up thinking this was the "hitchhikers guide" Douglas Adams. I really enjoyed this book but I think it should be stated this is NOT the 42 guy. So if you're looking for his books, this is not one of them.

Not by the same author as the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series!
For people who are fans of Douglas N. Adams the author of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, I would like to warn you that the author of The Prostitue in the Family Tree: Discovering Humor and Irony in the Bible is a different person named Douglas E. Adams.Unlike the famious radical British athiest Douglas N. Adams, E. Adams is an American preacher who is not in any respects a comedian.I hope you do not make the mistake that I made.

The subject matter is worth it
As other reviewers have stated, the writing is not all there - the book doesn't seem like a book so much as notes the author would use for a class - but the subject matter is unique and worthwhile.Until there is some other book about tbhe subject (adams or otherwise) this is what we have to deal with, and I'd much sooner take it than leave it.

Not what I thought
I thought that this would be a great book written by THE Douglas Adams, author of HHG2G and well known atheist.Wow, was I mistaken!Anyway, I've got nothing against this book.I just want to make sure other people don't make the same mistake I did. ... Read more

Book Description
Douglas Adams is back with the amazing, logic-defying, but-why-stop-now fifth novel in the Hitchhiker Trilogy. Here is the epic story of Random, who sets out on a transgalactic quest to find the planet of her ancestors. Line drawings.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (159)

Fade to Black
After I read the fourth book "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" I checked the reviews for this one and decided I didn't like it and shouldn't read it.But then I decided a couple weeks later that I might as well read it in case it wasn't as disappointing as I thought and just so I could get my merit badge for having read the entire series--except for the short story included in the "Ultimate" edition and "Salmon of Doubt."And just like one of those horrible standardized tests, most of the time you should go with your first instinct.

Reading the end of this book felt exactly like the outrage expressed by fans of "The Sopranos" after the infamous "fade to black" ending.The first reaction was "Huh?"This was followed by reading over the last pages a couple times to see if I'd missed something.This was followed by disbelief that I didn't miss something.Finally, the outrage of "THAT's how it ends?!!!"(Unlike some other books at least I didn't throw it against a wall, it being a library copy in already shoddy condition.)

Like those Sopranos fans, I feel like I was duped, like I had a practical joke played on me.I read these books and followed it all the way to the end and then--THAT.Really all I needed then was for the ghost of Douglas Adams to appear to point and laugh at me and then flip me the bird.I think when you follow a series, even one that isn't terribly long like the Hitchhiker books (about 1,100 pages in all) you want that "Lord of the Rings" ending with all the farewells or the "Harry Potter" ending where we check up on everyone years later.Because let's face it, when you read an entire series you become emotionally invested in it to some extent so they're maybe not a spouse or brother/sister, but at least an aunt/uncle who appears regularly.So when it comes to the end, you want the closure, not so much of a funeral but more like a graduation or wedding where one journey ends and another is beginning.When that's lacking, you're left with disappointment and resentment that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

What saves this book is that you read "Hitchhiker" books for the same reason people watch "Family Guy" on TV, for the ridiculous asides more than the actual main story.That's what makes the books readable even when the story and especially the character development is disappointing.

The story concerns the complexities of space-time, which is always very confusing.Fenchurch, the love Arthur discovered in the previous book, disappears in a hyperspace accident without so much as a line of dialog, thus rendering the last book pretty moot.Arthur then roams around the Galaxy by donating hair, fingernails, and of course sperm to DNA banks.(Whatever happened to the, you know, hitchhiking?)He does this to find a place where he can fit in, trying a few places like another version of Earth called NowWhat that is a swampy hellhole.(If you want to take a romantic interpretation, you could also say that by constantly traveling in hyperspace maybe he's hoping Fenchurch will reappear.)He finally crashes on a remote planet and becomes a revered Sandwich Maker until he meets his daughter, produced by some of that sperm he gave away.The child's mother is none other than Tricia McMillan or Trillian.She comes from another Earth (or is it the same one as the fourth book?) where she never went with Zaphod at a party and thus never became Trillian and instead became a news reporter who's visited by aliens who crash-landed on the tenth planet called Rupert, which technically now would be the ninth since Pluto is no longer a planet.Meanwhile, Ford Prefect discovers that a big corporation has bought out the Hitchhiker's Guide and developed a new version with the power to destroy the universe.Is any of this making sense?Probably not.It doesn't make much more sense when you actually read the book either.

All this naturally leads to the really disappointing ending that I went on and on about above.Like pretty much all the Hitchhiker books, there's little in the way of character development and after spending 90% of the story getting everyone together, the author rushes the unsatisfactory conclusion.If not for those funny asides and the humorous tone of Adams's writing, this would have been far more disappointing.Still, if you've read and enjoyed the rest of the series you may as well read this one for the complete set.

That, mercifully, is all.

Panic
In the process of reading his bio, I discovered there's been a fifth Hitchhiker installment for 15 years that I didn't know about. I've read it now. It's excellent. It's interesting to know how painful it was for him to write, because it reads so smoothly. Very funny, and insightful. We find out what "42" means, among other things. It's like one of the cover blurbs say, when all the pieces suddenly click into place and you realize there was a method to the madness, or at least a plan, all along.

Mostly satisfying
The unfortunately final entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide series is also perhaps the best.

There are some grounds for complaint.Adams' summarily writing out Fenchurch was disappointing, though necessary to make this story work.And the ending is decidedly bleak--yes, even worse than when Arthur and Ford were stranded on prehistoric Earth at the end of book two.There is some indication that Adams wouldn't have left the series ending this way had his life not been tragically cut short, but now we'll never know.

However, despite the occasionally dark tone, Adams' trademark zany humor runs throughout to help counterbalance it, and the plotting here nicely resolves threads introduced in several earlier entries in surprising ways.And as with Arthur's relationship with Fenchurch in the previous book, his relationship with his teenage daughter Random in this one adds new dimensions to his character, and shows that Adams is capable of genuine insight in addition to outright hilarity.

The new Guide is appropriately sinister, Old Thrashbarg and the Perfectly Normal Beast and the aliens who've lost their minds are very funny, and best (or worst?) of all, the Vogons are back!Adams somehow manages to expertly juggle all of these plotlines through complex and potentially confusing travel through time and multi-dimensional space.That in and of itself is an achievement.He packs an awful lot of value into such slim volumes.

If only there had been more!

Not Free SF Reader
Multiple planet waxings are dull.


Or, why the hell did we read this book.Ok, the answer to that one is obvious, but anyway, this one can happily be avoided and you aren't missing anything.Even the potential best amusing bits aren't really, with Ford's corporate masters, and Arthur, yet again on Earth putting up with some very strange new behaviour by the people there.

Are We There Yet?
Douglas Adams began his Hitchhiker's trilogy with a tremendous story, an engaging cast of characters, and some excellent humor.Five times he has come back to those characters, with less than stellar turnouts than the first novel."Mostly Harmless", the fifth book in the series, and what Ford Prefect's entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide about Earth has been shortened to, is full of Adams' trademark humor and observations, but little else.

The story picks up with Tricia McMillan, a newsreporter hoping for a better job and certain that she's lived another life at some point in the recent past.From there readers are thrown into a story arc about Ford Prefect returning to the offices of the Guide to find that things have changed, and not for the better, and that Vogons (those nasty lifeforms that wanted to destroy Earth in the first book) might be behind it all.And then there is Arthur, last seen content in book four with Fenchurch, who has now mysteriously disappeared, which has thrown Arthur on a quest to find Earth, or a planet very much like it.Throw into the mix Tricia's other life, in the form of Trillian, and her daughter, Random, fathered by Arthur, and things get even more complicated.

The stories rely on a parallel reality of sorts to explain why Earth can still exist, as well as people having two lives at once."Mostly Harmless" wanders about, delighting in the trivial aspects and tribulations of these characters' lives, and in the snarky observations of its author, but falls flat when it tries to connect all of these stories together.The ending is rushed upon the reader, with an uncertainty of conclusion, which leaves the reader wondering if this is really it.With the way the novels in this series tend be shadows of the original brillance, one could hope it is. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Starship Titanic is a science-fiction adventure set aboard a colossal spaceship (which is named after a fairly well-known cruise ship from the planet Earth). It seems that something has gone horribly wrong aboard the Starship Titanic--a fact that becomes evident as the vessel slams into the cozy confines of your living room. Now, at the request of the ship's robotic crew, you must go aboard, figure out what went wrong, and fix it.

The game uses impressively rendered graphics to depict Starship Titanic's opulent interior. For the most part, you can make your way through the ship and the game using the mouse as you would in Myst. For conversations with the robot attendants, you use the keyboard and the game's text parser. This combination of contemporary adventure-game graphics and classic-style text conversations works well.

As with any adventure game, this one has a lot of puzzles for you to solve. And like everything else Douglas Adams comes up with, the puzzles in this game are complex, challenging, and often downright silly. You'll have to disarm a bomb, for example, that has a 20-digit "combination" and that constantly taunts you. (Monty Python's John Cleese plays the voice of the bomb.)You'll also have to deal with an annoying, chicken-eating parrot (played by Terry Jones, another Python veteran and author of the Starship Titanic novel).One thing to keep in mind as you play Starship Titanic is that the puzzles will leave you frustrated at times. That's OK--in fact, that's probably what Adams had in mind from the start--because most of the solutions to these puzzles are incredibly bizarre and unusual. If you get really stuck, the DoorBot and BellBot can usually be of some assistance.

Even with a little help from these automated assistants, however, Starship Titanic will have you puzzling for hours and hours. --Michael RyanBook Description
Arguably the greatest collaboration in the whole history of comedy!

Bestselling author Douglas Adams wrote the storyline based on his CD-ROM game of the same name (as this novel, not as him, obviously).

Terry Jones of Monty Python wrote the book. In the nude! Parents be warned! Most of the words in this book were written by a naked man!

So. You want to argue with that? All right, we give in.

Starship Titanic is the greatest, most fabulous, most technologically advanced interstellar cruise line ever built. It is like a cross between the Queen Mary, the Chrysler Building, Tutankhamen's tomb, and Venice. Furthermore, it cannot possibly go wrong. . . .

Sadly, however, seconds after its launch it undergoes SMEF, or Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure. And disappears.

Except, everything's got to be somewhere.

Coming home that night, on a little known planet called Earth, Dan and Lucy Gibson find something very large and very, very shiny sticking into their house. . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (115)

Save your money
Weak writing, unfunny, uninteresting, and one of the few books I may actually put down before I finish.I'm halfway through now and it's a struggle to force myself to read further.Don't waste your dough on this one, folks.

Starship Titanic:A bit more successful than the original
Douglas Adam's Starship Titanic by Terry Jones is a hilarious book. It starts out describing separately what goes on at the building of the magnificent Starship Titanic, and the couple, Dan and Lucy. [...]

[...]

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Monty Python, who has nothing better to do, and can relate to many of the problems of the travel industry. There's no great meaning to this book, other than to have a few laughs. I would not recommend this book to anyone who is offended by Monty Python, or sexual references. To decide if you can handle the type of humor found in the book, just read the back cover. It will tell you all you need to judge it. Over all, this was a great and hilarious book that I would recommend to anyone.

Maybe my expectations were a little too high?
First I must state I am a huge Douglas Adams fan and enough of a Monty Python fan to know who Terry Jones is.So when I saw a book with the two names on the front, I was excited.I remembered hearing about the computer game of the same name, but had never gotten around to playing (still haven't) so I can't compare the two.Disclosures aside, I still can't believe I didn't enjoy this book.
In the beginning notes, Douglas Adams says this book is "altogether sillier and naughtier" than his would have been.That's not the half of it.This novel is Terry Jones' doing a poor imitation of Adams.It reminds me of what Adams may have written when he was 14, complete with disjointed plot, terrible dialogue and sophomoric sexual humor.
I actually found myself having to re-read passages because the editing was non-existant.This must have been a rush job, because I spotted quite a few spelling errors, and at least a dozen passages that were extremely confusing.Did I mention the dialogue was horrible?
I made it through the entire book only because I can't bear to leave a book unfinished.However, I would not recommend it to anyone.I hear the game is much better.

That sinking feeling --
-- and not just because of the starship itself. But let's look at that, first.

This isn't really a Douglas Adams book. It's an Adams video game, novelized by Monty Python's Terry Jones. The Starship Titanic, the hugest, most luxurious star cruiser ever, is set for its maiden voyage. Not just the biggest starship, it's also the biggest scam in history, one that shattered planetary economies even before its completion. And it's not really a starship, so much as a complex financial swindle and a barely-stable shell, about to be blown up for the insurance money. Peopled only by officious and arrogant robots, bewildered and unintentional stowaways, and by a ticking bomb, the story unfolds. Given Jones's writing and Adams's intellectual parentage, it's an amazing bit of comedy with a happy ending.

Jones's writing is good, but somehow lacks the sparkle of Adams's. It's also constrained by the video game that it emulates - face it, the video game isn't the richest of dramatic formats, so the book can't rise far above its origin. There's amusement to be had here, but it's a letdown after Adams's own writing.

//wiredweird

Whimsical Fun
It could be envisioned as another entertaining movie written, acted, and directed by the Monty Phyton's whole crew - skillful actors, writers, directors, cameramen, singers, dancers, jokers, complainers, etc. The amusement of wordplay, nuances of unthinkable actions, and basketfuls of basket case characters, make this screwy science fiction rather exciting. Mr. Jones's and Mr. Adams's sense of humor shines unadulterated on every page. The writing obeys the train of thoughts of a quirky story teller. Four earthlings find themselves swept up, up, and away into space on a magnificent spaceship full of robots. The reader would learn about the origin of the spaceship. Thus the humans embark on a short adventure but full of revelations. The ending is pretty exciting because for one, they practically race against time. Everything is tidied up pretty nicely as a conclusion by Mr. Jones. The language is easy and straightforward. The jokes are many and obvious. The dialogues are wholesome British humor, strictly Mr. Jones's way of making people laugh out loud. ... Read more

Book Description
Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer?

Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didn’t know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there aren’t—or rather there weren’t, until Douglas Adams and John Lloyd decided to plug these egregious linguistic lacunae(6). They quickly realized that just as there are an awful lot of experiences that no one has a name for, so there are an awful lot of names for places you will never need to go to. What a waste. As responsible citizens of a small and crowded world, we must all learn the virtues of recycling(7) and put old, worn-out but still serviceable names to exciting, vibrant, new uses. This is the book that does that for you: The Deeper Meaning of Liff—a whole new solution to the problem of Great Wakering(8)


1—The feeling of aluminum foil against your fillings.

2—The way people stand when examining other people’s bookshelves.

3—A plastic packet containing shampoo, mustard, etc., which is impossible to open except by biting off
the corners.

4—Generic term for anything that comes out in a gush, despite all your efforts to let it out carefully, e.g., flour into a white sauce, ketchup onto fish, a dog into the yard, and another naughty meaning that we can’t put on the cover.

5—The marks left on your bottom and thighs after you’ve been sitting sunbathing in a wicker chair.

6—God knows what this means

7—For instance, some of this book was first published in Britain twenty-six years ago.

8—Look it up yourself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Amusing read for lunchbreaks
I really enjoyed reading this book.I kept finding things in it I could use in everyday sentences.Who hasn't experienced the sensation of woking?

I had heard of this product through one of Adams's other books - Salmon of Doubt, so I kind of had an idea of what it was about.Anyone who enjoys Pratchett or Monty Python will get a kick out of this book.

Big fan of Adams, but this book ...
I am a big fan of Dougles Adams books, at least in general.

But this book is, at best, only marginally funny. Others have explored this topic, and with better results.

The problem here is that Adams tries to make funny sounding words for things that don't have a name (like that little twist between link sausages), but constrains himself to using the names of small cities and towns from around the world. Occasionally, he hits a home run, but most of the words are strike outs.

Disapointed.

PS the 'name' for hte link between sausages is kerry. Why, I don't know, and I have no idea why some think this is humorous.

glorious
This book was superb, anyone who is a fan of Adams will appreciate it's wit, it's ingenuity, and it's intense sarcasm. Absolutely necessary to complete you Douglas Adams collection.

Short Quck Laughs
In a hurry stressed out... just read a couple quick definitions it will lighten your mood it does mine

Not what I was expecting.
This book is set up as a dictionary.If you enjoy reading dictionaries, then please purchase this book.The humor was lost on me because of the format. ... Read more

Product Description
Contents: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish; Mostly Harmless. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Books, not Movie.
The books are wonderful, but if you think that the books are gonig to be like any other version of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, you are dead wrong. If you read the introduction to the books you know that each version is meant to be different than the others. That is the beauty of Douglas Adams work. They are all unique but all worth you time.

your guide
Okay, for those of you who haven't read the book yet but did watch the movie you guys missed out on a lot the movie didn't include all the scenes that I personally though was very well.
Now that that's out of the way. Douglas Adams in his one of his possibly best know books really out did himself. In this adventure a boring simpleton named Arthur Dent living on the planet we call earth has befriended a guy named Ford Perfect, who is not as he claimed from earth but from a planet called Betelgeuse. Where he was sent from to do research for "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe" (it's a book where it has everything and anything that you could possibly need to know about the universe). Ford tells Arthur that he isn't from around here.He isn't from Earth. In telling Arthur this he also tells him that the earth is about to end.
And since they have gotten to be really close friends he takes Arthur with him when he hitches a ride with the Vogan ships (these are what the aliens are called that destroyed our planet earth). Vogan's in particular don't like hitchhikers very much. So they kick them off the ship, shortly after they get on. And by pure chance they get picked up. And the story goes from there.
Now that I've told you how the book starts I'll leave it up to you to read the rest of the book. And if you read this book, then watch the movie. You'll see that the movie is hardly based on this incredible book . ... Read more

Amazon.com
Join Douglas Adams's hapless hero Arthur Dent as he travels the galaxywith his intrepid pal Ford Prefect, getting into horrible messes and generally wreaking hilarious havoc. Dent is grabbed from Earth moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a freeway. You'll never read funnier science fiction; Adams is a master of intelligent satire, barbed wit, and comedic dialogue. The Hitchhiker's Guide is rich in comedic detail and thought-provoking situations and stands up to multiple reads. Required reading for science fiction fans, this book (and its follow-ups) is also sure to please fans of Monty Python, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and British sitcoms.Book Description
"IRRESISTIBLE!"
--The Boston Globe
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
"[A] WHIMSICAL ODYSSEY...Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy."
--Publishers Weekly ... Read more

Customer Reviews (657)

Funny Sci-Fi
This book is a perfect combination of science fiction and comedy. If you like these two genres then you are sure to love this book. I sure did.

Wonderfully Hilarious
Hilarious and entertaining, Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an enjoying read. Filled with irony and amusing parts, the book is good for relaxing and taking your mind out of reality.

Some of the characters in the story are outrageously funny. I especially love the contrast between the average normal human, Arthur Dent, and the rest of the relaxed and carefree characters. Arthur Dent is your average, don't have any idea what in the world is going on type of guy. Then there's Zaphod Beeblebrox. I mean how cool is that name?! Although he is the type of person you want to knock out because he is so idiotic. Even compared to Arthur Dent who does not have a clue what is going on, Beeblebrox appears to be THE loser of the galaxy. Last but not least, there's Marvin- one of the best if not the best character in the book. He steals the whole show away with his depressed mood. The thing he says and does is so ridiculous that I am on the floor laughing half the time. I mean when he plugs himself into another computer and the computer commits suicide- now that is hilarious.

Douglas Adams' style is very simple and direct. It is as if he is discussing the story with the reader. While using sarcasm and jokes to make statements about life in general, Adams keeps readers entertained with his simple straightforward language.

Filled with dynamic and entertaining characters and species, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is easy to read and one of the funniest science fiction novels I have read in my entire life.

A Humorus Book For All
Hitchhikers Guide is indisputably one of the funniest if not the funniest books ever written. While still sticking by science fiction standards Douglas Adams creates scenes of hilarity not only to make us laugh but to give us different perspective about this silly thing we call life.

Though the story line is a bit complicated the first time around, this provides for multiple readings of enjoyment. We start with our main character Arthur Dent, who is having his house demolished to make way for a bypass and is then suddenly saved as the world is about to end by his friend Ford Prefect. Sound simple so far, well it's not that simple, in fact it's quite complicated. It turns out that his planet is being destroyed by the poetry-telling Vogons and that his friend Ford Prefect is actually from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.From here Ford and Arthur are thrust into a world of obscurities and random events.

With items such as the Babel fish, the Infinite Improbability Drive, and a spaceship named the Heart of Gold it's hard to go wrong. Adam's characters are especially unique. From the clueless Arthur Dent, who really just wants a nice cup of tea, to Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the galaxy who has three arms and two head, to Sartibartfast, the planet building man responsible for making the fjords on earth, Adam's presents an all-star lineup. One character not mentioned, but who deserves recognition is Marvin the Paranoid Android whose wholehearted depression makes the story even funnier.

The whole story is not in complete narrative format, instead there arerandom moments in which Adams choose to insert random facts about universe as written in the Hitchhikers Guide, a wonderful book with thewords Don't Panic written in nice friendly letters. Here Adam's true comedic genius shines and his style is evident through is humor. He uses short sentences to make understatements "space is really big" as well as long sentences to go off on tangents on topics such as Vogon poetry or the existence of Magreathea.

In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy not only will you find the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything thing, but you might also find yourself rolling on the ground laughing. And who knows maybe one day you'll get to visit the restaurant at the end of the universe.

Terrific Book
Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy, is truly a genius. Arthur Dent is taken from a
modern Earth, seconds before it is destroyed, by Ford
Prefect, stranded, not-from-Earth researcher for The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. After series of
painful, shocking events, Arthur is rescued by
Trillian (a brilliant former earthling), Zaphod
Beeblebrox (the absurd former president of the
galaxy), and Marvin (a depressed robot). Zaphod has
stolen The Heart of Gold, and is now being chased by
the police. The five land on an ancient planet, the
inhabitants of which tell of the search for the answer
and question to life, the universe and everything, a
search which Arthur has now become a large part of.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy lacks a clear
plot and the ending makes it clear that it is
necessary to read the next book; however, neither of
these features are bad things. The theme is probably
justice, because Trillian, Zaphod, Ford, Marvin, and
especially Arthur face injustice, and go against it. I
loved the story; my only complaint is that a third of
the book is a making of the movie section and is not
worth reading unless you loved the movie. Prepare for
plot twists, cliffhangers, and laughter!

Don't Panic, It's Not So Bad
This is another one of those books I'd long heard about and meant to get around to reading at some point.Finally I was at the bookstore to get some gifts and decided to just buy the thing and read it.Since my edition was only 215 pages it didn't take very long.This is the kind of book you could read at the airport while waiting for your plane or in an afternoon at the beach, if you aren't too afraid of people judging you harshly for reading a sci-fi book on the beach.

Anyway, a concern of mine was that this book would turn out to be too British.By that I mean British humor is often so dry and strange that it's hard for people from other countries to understand it, like when I recently watched "Shaun of the Dead" and it just didn't seem that funny to me.I have to say there probably is some of that stuff I just didn't get, but there was also enough I did get for it to be a hilarious read.

In the universe according to Adams, poetry can be used as a weapon, Earth is demolished to make room for a new galactic superhighway, and mankind is only the third most intelligent species behind dolphins and another species I can't reveal without giving too much away.

As for the story, Arthur Dent is a typical suburban Britisher whose house is about to be torn down to make room for a new road.This parallels Earth's fate as a race of ugly bureaucratic aliens swoop down to announce Earth is to be demolished to make room for a new galactic highway.(The plans were available in Alpha Centauri for decades.Didn't we get the memo?)Arthur is narrowly saved by his friend Ford Prefect, an out-of-work actor who's actually an alien.At the same time, the president of the galaxy Beetlebrox and his lovely human companion Trillian steal a new ship that runs via the Improbability Drive, which seems to cause highly improbable things to happen whenever it's used.The two storylines become intertwined in the search for the Ultimate Question.

The Improbability Drive was the one thing I really didn't fully grasp in this book.The rest of the sci-fi terminology was easy enough to understand if you've ever watched "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" or anything like that.So it's not really a challenging read that way.The real challenged as I mentioned is picking up on the subtleties and nuances I'm sure are buried in there.Some scholars out there I'm sure have broken down all the novel's symbolic elements and all that.

The only real problem I have with this book is that it's too short.I didn't feel like I got a good enough grasp of the main characters, their conflicts, and relationships.Because the book is only 215 pages it seemed like we only got an overview of Arthur, Ford, Beetlebrox, Trillian, and Marvin without delving any deeper.I suppose that will be for the sequels to delve into.At some point I'll have to read those as well.(I haven't seen the recent film version either because I was afraid it would spoil my eventual reading of the book.)

Still, as mentioned this novel is a hilarious read and since it takes so little time to breeze through there's really no excuse to keep putting it off if it's been on your list.

That is all. ... Read more

Book Description
"IRRESISTIBLE!"
--The Boston Globe
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
"[A] WHIMSICAL ODYSSEY...Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy."
--Publishers Weekly


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Hitchiker revisted
It was wonderful to hear Stephen Fry's version of one of my favorite BBC TV programmes "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
This is my firsy audio book and it's great as I can do other things and still listen and enjoy this book.

Perfect for Old and New Fans of This Classic!
Over the Memorial Day weekend, I had the good fortune to be invited to Maine to see the fabulous tree house that is the subject of The Treehouse Chronicles.I decided this would be a good chance to listen to a recording of an old favorite that I've never heard in audio form before.Browsing through the library, it was an easy decision to pick this new recording of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Within minutes, I could tell that I'd made a winning choice as I listened to Stephen Fry brilliantly share his voice to add texture to this intriguing story.Between the accents and the humorous references to irony, I was enthralled.I found myself wishing that the recording was a longer one.

When you read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it can come across a little simplistically in places.Those spots work much smoother in this audio version.

In fact, if you haven't read the book, I recommend that you listen to this recording instead.I think you'll enjoy and appreciate the book more in its more dramatic version here.

If you don't know the story, Arthur Dent finds himself awakening with a hangover determined to save his home.Only problem is, while the demolition crew looms, he's also about to lose his other home, the Earth.Aided by his alien friend, Ford Prefect, Arthur is soon off hitchhiking his way through the galaxy in a most improbable set of circumstances that will amuse and delight you.You'll meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, one of the most memorable aliens in anyone's fiction.Along the way, you'll learn more speculation about wearing digital watches and finding lost ballpoint pens than you ever expected to know.

Bravo, Stephen Fry and Douglas Adams!

The first in a series yet complete in its self
A galactic freeway is coming through and you guest it the Earth is in the way.

Listening to the audio CD's has an extra dimension to the book. You do get time to catch your breath. And my CD player is in the car. Somehow I survived. I would say that one great advantage to CD's is the ability to hear how the names are pronounced and you get inflections that intended or not help understand where they are going before they get there. Another advantage is that CD's like acid free paper should outlast the reader.

How many times have you asked a simple question and go the answer as "42." Yep, you are a victim to this book. Many of the clichés and truisms that rival Shakespeare are creeping into our vocabulary. And attitudes - "It has been on file."

If you are the one person that somehow got through life with out reading this series or at least seeing this on TV, then you are in for a treat. Somehow this story is earmarked as sci-fi and I guess it can be in a sense and it has all the elements necessary; it delivers a powerful message to the local Zoning Board.

I will not go though the story, as that is why you are reading the book. You need to sit down for the next sentence.

This book has changed my life.

I love listening to this audiobook in my car .
It is fitting that this audio adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was voiced by actor Stephen Fry.Fry was a close friend of the late Mr. Adams, and he also narrates the new H2G2 movie as the voice of the Book.Fry does a great job of making this classic novel come alive, drawing the listener into the story.This audiobook makes a great tribute to Douglas Adams and the world and characters he created in the H2G2 universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The first and best!
Of all the incarnations this story has gone through, I still believe that this original BBC radiophonic production is the best!

The Original BBC series. Must have for any Hitch-Hiker Fan
This is the original BBC radio series (I know I have an old cassette copy from the early 1908's). The radio series was first, then the book, then the TV series, and now the movie. In my opinion the radio series was the best. It has all of the great lines my friend love to quote.The actors are wonderful. The sound effects make you feel like you are right there with Arthur and Ford exploring the universe. Highly recommend it. Great way to pass the time while you are driving to work. ... Read more