Paperback
English language
Published May 1, 1988 by Pocket.
'It's all absolutely devastatingly true -- except the bits that are lies' Douglas Adams
Don't Panic celebrates the life of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea.
This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- the original radio series which started it all, and the five book 'trilogy', the TV series, almost-film, computer game, towel and website that followed.
Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman also tells the whole story of Liff, the Universe of Dick Gently, and everything else Douglas ever worked on, including his posthumous collection The Salmon of Doubt. As Douglas himself said, it is 'certainly the most outstandingly brilliant book to have been written about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy since this morning.'
Completely updated, with a new foreword by Neil Gaiman
This description comes from the …
'It's all absolutely devastatingly true -- except the bits that are lies' Douglas Adams
Don't Panic celebrates the life of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea.
This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- the original radio series which started it all, and the five book 'trilogy', the TV series, almost-film, computer game, towel and website that followed.
Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman also tells the whole story of Liff, the Universe of Dick Gently, and everything else Douglas ever worked on, including his posthumous collection The Salmon of Doubt. As Douglas himself said, it is 'certainly the most outstandingly brilliant book to have been written about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy since this morning.'
Completely updated, with a new foreword by Neil Gaiman
This description comes from the 2003 Titan Books edition.
Loved the absurdity and the perspective on humanity. We are 3rd in order of intelligence on earth. Goodbye and thanks for all the fish!
I own three copies of this book, one of which is leather-bound and gilt edged. 'Nuff said. This book defines funny sci-fi.
I used to re-read this all the time as a teenager, but it must be 20 years since my last visit. I found I could still quote a lot of the best lines. Douglas Adams' voice is wonderful to listen to, and this book cheered me up enormously just when I needed a laugh and some perspective.
I listened to Stephen Fry's audio book reading.
It's been a while since I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy so I picked it as a re-read for the readathon. Unfortunately I've now ended up with a film tie-in edition for a pretty bad film. Don't watch it! I can recommend the cheesy BBC TV series or the Radio 4 recordings if you are after something other than the book.
It's hard to review a book you've grown up with. In my mind everyone knows the significance of 42 and what a Babelfish is. However if you aren't familiar, it's the first in a "trilogy of five parts" of sci-fi comedy in which the world is destroyed to make space for an intergalactic highway and the sole survivor, Arthur Dent, is rescued by his alien friend, Ford Prefect, and end up on a journey through space on a ship powered by an improbability drive. And what is …
It's been a while since I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy so I picked it as a re-read for the readathon. Unfortunately I've now ended up with a film tie-in edition for a pretty bad film. Don't watch it! I can recommend the cheesy BBC TV series or the Radio 4 recordings if you are after something other than the book.
It's hard to review a book you've grown up with. In my mind everyone knows the significance of 42 and what a Babelfish is. However if you aren't familiar, it's the first in a "trilogy of five parts" of sci-fi comedy in which the world is destroyed to make space for an intergalactic highway and the sole survivor, Arthur Dent, is rescued by his alien friend, Ford Prefect, and end up on a journey through space on a ship powered by an improbability drive. And what is the question of life, the universe and everything if the answer is 42?
Let's face it, the actual book in the book was the forefather of the Kindle. I'm quite tempted to hack mine to give it a Don't Panic screensaver. The passages out of the guide are the best parts. Actually they were the only thing well done in the recent remake (voiced by the wonderful Stephen Fry).
I don't think the book works by itself, if you're reading for the first time, get at least three books to read back-to-back. I don't think the humour has dated too much considering it was written in the late 70s. I think most of us can at least remember the obsession with digital watches and the philosophy is still as relevant as ever.
These are probably the funniest books I've ever read. Ever. I laughed so hard someone thought I was crying . . . and that wasn't even the first time I'd read them. People who see the film are missing the point - what makes these books brilliant is Adams's writing, not the story itself. You just can't duplicate that on film.
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