Staff Pick
Intelligent, philosophical, witty, charming, and laugh-out-loud funny. Douglas Adams's conversational style of writing makes this strange journey an absolute joy to read. This is my favorite book of all time, and "Don't Panic" is tattooed on my arm in large, friendly letters as a permanent reminder of this most important lesson from the most important book in the galaxy — The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! This is a book everyone should read, and is in fact on our list of 25 Books to Read Before You Die (and most deservedly so). Arthur Dent's reluctant trip across space and time continues to be essential reading for all — not just sci-fi fans — 42 years after its publication. Recommended By Joseph P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
How shall we begin?
This is the story of a book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — not an Earth book, never published on Earth and, until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or even heard of by any Earthman. Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book.
or
This is the story of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a number-one best seller in England, a weekly radio series with millions of fanatic listeners, and soon to be a television spectacle on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
or
This is the story of Arthur Dent, who, seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, is plucked off the planet by his friend, Ford Prefect, who has been posing as an out-of-work actor for the last fifteen years but is really a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Together they begin a journey through the galaxy aided by quotes from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, with the words "don't panic" written on the front. (“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.”)
In their travels they meet:
•Zaphod Beeblebrox — the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch President of the Galaxy
•Trillian — Zaphod's girl friend, formerly Tricia McMillan, whom Arthur once tried to pick up at a cocktail party
•Marvin — a paranoid android, a brilliant but chronically depressed robot
•Veet Voojagig — former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years
To find the answers to these burning questions: Why are we born? Why do we die? And why do we spend so much time in between wearing digital watches? read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. But remember... don't panic, and don't forget to bring a towel.
Synopsis
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read How shall we begin?
This is the story of a book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--not an Earth book, never published on Earth and, until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or even heard of by any Earthman. Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book.
or
This is the story of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a number-one best seller in England, a weekly radio series with millions of fanatic listeners, and soon to be a television spectacle on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
or
This is the story of Arthur Dent, who, secnds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, is plucked off the planet by his friend, Ford Prefect, who has been posing as an out-of-work actor for the last fifteen years but is really a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Together they begin a journey through the galaxy aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with the words don't panic written on the front. ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.")
In their travels they meet:
-Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch President of the Galaxy
-Trillian--Zaphod's girl friend, formerly Tricia McMillan, whom Arthur once tried to pick up at a cocktail party
-Marvin--a paranoid android, a brilliant but chronically depressed robot
-Veet Voojagig--former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years
To find the answers to these burning questions: Why are we born? Why do we die? And why do we spend so much time in between wearing digital watches? read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. But remember . . . don't panic, and don't forget to bring a towel.
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "Extremely funny . . . inspired lunacy . . . and] over much too soon."--The Washington Post Book World SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES - Now celebrating the pivotal 42nd anniversary of the original radio show on which the book was based.
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read
Seconds before 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 began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod's girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he's bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars
Praise for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
"A whimsical oddyssey . . . Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy."--Publishers Weekly
"Irresistable "--The Boston Globe
About the Author
Douglas Adams created all the various and contradictory manifestations of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: radio, novels, TV computer game, stage adaptation, comic book, bath towel and major movie. He lectured and broadcast around the world and was a patron of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhino International.
He was born in Cambridge and lived with his wife and daughter in Santa Barbara, California, where he died suddenly on 11 May 2001.