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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

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• The Guardian - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – review
• Nature - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: 40 years of parody and predictions
• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Table Of Contents

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , the first book (1979) in the highly popular series of comic science fiction novels by British writer Douglas Adams . The saga mocks modern society with humour and cynicism and has as its hero a hapless, deeply ordinary Englishman (Arthur Dent) who unexpectedly finds himself adrift in a universe characterized by randomness and absurdity.

Arthur Dent, whose house is about to be demolished for a planned road bypass, is lying down in front of a bulldozer when his friend Ford Prefect arrives and tells him that it is imperative that they go to the pub immediately. There Ford explains that he is actually from a planet near Betelgeuse and that another alien species, the Vogons, are about to destroy the Earth to make space for a hyperspatial express route. Meanwhile, Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the Galaxy , and his human female friend Trillian steal the Heart of Gold spaceship. Ford and Arthur hitch a ride on a Vogon destructor ship, and Ford lends Arthur the electronic guidebook The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and gives him a Babel fish to stick in his ear to translate alien speech. The Vogon ship captain has Ford and Arthur ejected into space, but the Heart of Gold, which has an Infinite Improbability Drive, picks them up 29 seconds later. The drive makes it possible to traverse interstellar space almost instantly but also causes Ford to (briefly) turn into a penguin.

Zaphod sends his depressive robot , Marvin, to escort the hitchhikers to the bridge. Later that night, the Heart of Gold reaches its destination—the legendary planet Magrathea, which in the past built planets to order for wealthy customers but later disappeared. However, Magrathea, after sending a message that it is closed for business, fires missiles at the Heart of Gold. The ship’s computer is unable to take evasive action, but Arthur engages the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the missiles turn into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias; both fall to the planet’s surface. Everything seems fine, except that Trillian’s pet mice, Benjy and Frankie, escape their cage.

On Magrathea, Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford explore the planet’s tunnels, leaving Marvin and Arthur to guard the entrance. Arthur encounters an elderly native of the planet, who introduces himself as Slartibartfast and explains that the populace is not dead but were sleeping until the economy improved. They are now engaged in building a second Earth, having been commissioned by mice, which are really hyperintelligent pandimensional beings, to build the first Earth. These beings had built a supercomputer, Deep Thought, to determine the answer to life, the universe, and everything. After a period of 7.5 million years, the computer declared the answer to be 42. The computer designed a more powerful computer, Earth, to find the question to which 42 is the answer. Earth had nearly completed its calculations when the Vogons destroyed it. Slartibartfast brings Arthur to meet the mice who commissioned the building of Earth, and they prove to be Benjy and Frankie. Zaphod and Ford suggest that Arthur may have some ideas about the Question, as his “brain was an organic part” of Earth, and Benjy and Frankie decide that they will buy Arthur’s brain and chop it up to look for their answer.

Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian are saved by the arrival of the galactic police to arrest Zaphod for the theft of the Heart of Gold. Marvin depresses the computer running the ship and life systems for the police into committing suicide, and the five travelers all escape to the Heart of Gold, after which they head toward the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy first appeared as a 12-part series on BBC radio (1978–80). The five-book series that followed, which Adams called a “trilogy,” sold million of copies worldwide . The books were, in addition to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe and Everything (1982), So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984), and Mostly Harmless (1992); after Adams’s death in 2001, a sixth tale, And Another Thing… , written by Eoin Colfer , was published in 2009. The series has been widely translated and adapted for television, theatre, comics, film, and even a computer game .

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It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question

Hafsa Fathima

Hadeel Al-Shalchi

British author Douglas Adams, left, and Nick Landau read Adams' book The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in October 1979. Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images hide caption

British author Douglas Adams, left, and Nick Landau read Adams' book The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in October 1979.

It's the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything: 42.

And 42 is now the number of years since the publication of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy , the first in the series of wacky and beloved sci-fi books by Douglas Adams.

The book follows Englishman Arthur Dent as he wakes up to find that Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a space highway. Adventure ensues across the galaxy with aliens, super computers and Marvin, a perpetually sad robot.

The iconic sci-fi franchise has taken on many forms, including a TV show , a movie , live theater productions , a computer game and comic books. It started as a BBC radio series in 1978.

But it's most well-known as a book, first published in October 1979. And after 42 years, fans still find joy in the humorous characters, absurd plots and subtle lessons that have kept the cultural legacy strong.

Arts & Life

'hitchhiker,' a guide to douglas adams.

Shamini Bundell, a science video journalist at Nature.org, says her obsession with The Hitchhiker's Guide began early.

"I'm a massive sci-fi fan, and a bit of a geek," Bundell tells Weekend Edition . "I remember in particular at one point getting the entire original radio series, and would listen to it before bed each night on my little CD player next to a bed."

Bundell said the story is a satire on what happens around the world and what we're doing to our planet and is still relevant today.

In the story, Vogons are an alien race destroying planets to make way for construction of a new hyperspace bypass.

"There's a lot of jokes in the Hitchhiker's book about sort of bureaucracy, the Vogons being sort of the epitome of they won't do anything without forms signed in triplicate," she says.

It reminds Bundell of how world leaders handle major issues, such as climate change, where they gather and say "we should definitely do something about climate change. But in practice, the years go by ... and we don't."

NPR Books Summer Poll 2021: A Decade Of Great Sci-Fi And Fantasy

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While the series can parody life on a larger scale, it's also moved fans on a personal level.

For Amit Oz, a chef in Hong Kong, the book helped him when he moved from Israel to China when he was young.

"The fact that life is just an adventure and the goal is to have fun. You're there to make the most of what's around you and be a good person while you do it," Oz says. "And I think that's grounding when your world is becoming an adventure."

The chef's favorite part of the Hitchhiker's series is Milliways, the restaurant at the end of the universe where visitors can witness the reverse Big Bang as they enjoy a meal. The familiarity of food and dining in the books resonates with him.

"It's funny because aliens from everywhere are coming in to do something that is very human, which is sit around and eat," he says.

"If you are hitchhiking around the universe and you can sit down in a spaceship or on another planet and have some noodles with a friend, a new friend or an old friend, it suddenly doesn't feel that distant or that far away or scary anymore."

The influence of the Hitchhiker's Guide "is everywhere," says Marcus O'Dair, author of The Rough Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .

"We can see it in culture, where Adams' story is rumoured to have inspired everything from the band Level 42 to comedy show The Kumars at No. 42, " he says. "We can see it in tech: in the real-life 'knife that toasts,' for instance, or in-ear translation services reminiscent of the Babel fish . The most visible sign of its ubiquity, though, might be the fact that we can celebrate its anniversary not at 40 or 50 years but at 42 — and everyone knows why."

So no matter how you choose to celebrate, remember to bring your towel .

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas adams, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Arthur Dent wakes up hungover one day and notices construction machinery stationed outside his house. Slowly, he recalls what he learned the previous evening: his house is set to be demolished to make way for a new bypass. Rushing outside, he confronts Mr. Prosser , the construction foreman, by lying in front of his bulldozer. Prosser tries to convince him to stop, pointing out that Arthur could have objected to the plans when they were first posted. However, Arthur maintains that he never even knew about the plans until yesterday evening, when he went to the local planning office to see where the notice was supposedly “displayed”: “in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’”

As Arthur and Prosser argue, Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect rushes onto his property and tries to convince him to come to the pub. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Ford is actually an alien who has been waylaid on earth for the past fifteen years. He first came to the planet to gather more information for an updated edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , which traveling aliens use as a reference book. For now, though, Arthur thinks Ford is human, and he’s surprised to hear that his friend wants to go to the pub so early in the day. Ford promises Arthur that he’ll convince Prosser to refrain from knocking down his house. Indeed, he succeeds in doing this by using an absurd argument that ends with Prosser himself lying in front of the bulldozer as a substitute for Arthur.

At the pub, Ford tells Arthur to drink five pints of beer as fast as he can because the world is about to end. Nobody in the pub believes him, but Arthur guzzles down the booze anyway. Arthur doesn’t know this, but Ford received a transmission last night on his Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic, which told him that the Vogon alien race was approaching earth in huge spaceships. The Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic is one of many valuable items Ford Prefect always carries with him, including a towel (the most useful item for hitchhiking) and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , which is a small electronic contraption that holds millions of pages that can be called up onscreen.

Soon enough, the Vogon spaceships arrive and make an announcement as they hover over earth: “ This is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council ,” a voice says over a PA system. “ As you will no doubt be aware, the plans for development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy require the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system, and regrettably your planet is one of those schedule for demolition .” At this, everybody on earth begins to panic, so the voice returns and says: “ There’s no point in acting all surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display in your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now .” Not long thereafter, the spaceships “energize” their “demolition beams” and destroy the planet.

Meanwhile, Zaphod Beeblebrox , the two-headed President of the Galaxy, prepares for a public appearance on a far-off planet. The purpose of this appearance is for Zaphod to reveal to the Galaxy a new spaceship called the Heart of Gold . Zaphod is excited to make this announcement, for he has a secret plan that will shock the Galaxy. Upon seeing the Heart of Gold, he says: “That is so amazingly amazing I think I’d like to steal it.” With this, he sets off a bomb as a distraction and jumps into the Heart of Gold with his girlfriend, Trillian , who is a human traveling through space with her two pet mice.

Meanwhile, Arthur finds himself on the Vogon spaceship with Ford, who helped him stow away on the aircraft. Ford explains what has happened and tells Arthur to heed the advice written on the front of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy : “Don’t panic!” Nonetheless, Arthur begins to fret when Ford tells him that Vogons hate hitchhikers. To make things worse, Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz comes onto the intercom and says that the ship is being searched for stowaways. When Ford and Arthur are discovered, they’re taken to Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, who recites his poetry to them as a method of torture before throwing them into outer space.

According to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , a person can hold their breath for approximately 30 seconds while hurdling through space, at which point he or she will die unless a passing spaceship happens to intercept him or her. The chances of this happening are 2^276,709 to 1 in favor of the person dying. Against these odds, though, Ford and Arthur are saved by the Heart of Gold, suddenly finding themselves inside the ship as their figures contort. For instance, Ford turns into a penguin and Arthur’s limbs start drifting off. Ford realizes that he and his friend have been saved by a ship that uses an “Infinite Improbability Drive,” something that enables a craft to cross “vast interstellar distances in a mere nothingth of a second” by manipulating the laws of improbability. This is why Ford and Arthur have been saved: the utter unlikeliness of their survival perfectly linked up with the Heart of Gold’s Improbability Drive.

Before long, Ford and Arthur return to their normal forms, and Zaphod and Trillian send Marvin —a depressed robot—to fetch them. When they enter the main part of the spaceship, they discover that they all know each other. Zaphod and Ford are distant cousins, and Arthur knows Trillian from a party on earth, where he flirted with her until Zaphod—on vacation on earth—swept in and took her away with him.

Once everybody reacquaints themselves with one another, Zaphod explains that they are going to Magrathea , an ancient planet built by a race of beings who design custom-built planets. Ford, for his part, maintains that Magrathea is the stuff of legends, insisting that nobody actually believes it ever existed. Nonetheless, Zaphod tells them that this is where they’re headed, and before long, their spaceship picks up a broadcast from an approaching planet. The broadcast is an old recording that confirms that they are, in fact, entering the vicinity of Magrathea. The voice thanks them for their interest but says that “the entire planet is temporarily closed for business.” When the Heart of Gold continues to approach, another message plays, asking them to leave. Finally, a third message informs them that there are now guided missiles pursuing their ship. Trying to steer away from the mayhem, the crew accidentally turns the ship upside-down, but Arthur has the good idea to hit the Infinite Improbability Drive, which turns the two missiles into a bowl of petunias and a sperm whale, respectively. Suddenly, the group finds themselves sitting at peace in an entirely different interior console, since the ship has changed as a result of their use of the Improbability Drive. Nonetheless, they’re able to land, and Zaphod leads them out onto the planet’s desolate surface.

While Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford descend into a hole in the planet made by the impact of the sperm whale—which fell from great heights—Arthur stands watch with Marvin, who, in his depressive state, decides to enter sleep mode. Walking down a passageway leading into the planet, Zaphod explains to Trillian and Ford that he doesn’t always know why he’s doing something. He admits that he thinks that he stole the Heart of Gold to find Magrathea, but that he can’t be sure because his brain has been tampered with. “I freewheel a lot,” he says, claiming that he simply follows his impulses as if he’s carrying out somebody else’s plan. Curious about this phenomenon, he studied his brain one night in the spaceship’s medical bay. What he found was quite strange: “A whole section in the middle of both [of my] brains that related only to each other and not to anything else around them.” Continuing, he says: “Some bastard had cauterized all the synapses and electronically traumatized those two lumps of cerebellum.” That “bastard,” Zaphod explains, must have been him, since his own initials—Z.B.—have been burned into his brain. He thinks that he must have purposefully hidden some sort of motive, because all incoming presidents are subject to a battery of brain tests. Since the government would have discovered his intentions during these tests, he blotted them out from his own brain. As he says this, he and his friends realize that they are in a room that is slowly filling with gas, at which point they all pass out.

Meanwhile, Arthur walks around above ground and bumps into an old man named Slartibartfast who drives him in a hover car to the center of Magrathea. On the way, he explains that the entire planet’s population has just woken up from a long hibernation of sorts. “You see,” he says, “five million years ago the Galactic economy collapsed, and seeing that custom-built planets are something of a luxury commodity…,” he says, trailing off. Continuing, he says: “The recession came and we decided it would save a lot of bother if we just slept through it. So we programmed the computers to revive us when it was all over.” However, they haven’t woken up because the market has been revived, but because a race of “hyperintelligent pandimensional beings” have commissioned them to build a very lucrative project. Slartibartfast explains that millions of years ago, these beings built a computer called Deep Thought and asked it to tell them the answer to “Life, the Universe and Everything.” After 7,500,000 years of thinking, Deep Thought told them that the answer is 42. The computer then suggested—in response to the beings’ confusion—that they don’t actually understand the question they’re asking, and so the hyperintelligent beings ordered Deep Thought to build another computer capable of explaining the question to them. This computer, Slartibartfast tells Arthur, was the planet earth, and the hyperintelligent beings oversaw the experiment by taking the form of mice and monitoring humans. The project was supposed to take 10,000,000 years, but the Vogons destroyed earth five minutes before the computer finished its task.

Because Arthur is the last human in existence who was present on earth right before it was destroyed, the mice want to tap into his brain—after all, the answer they seek might be imbedded in him, since he is an organic product of the supercomputer itself (earth). Slartibartfast takes Arthur to join his friends, where they sit down for lunch and talk to Trillian’s mice, who escaped from their cage when the Heart of Gold was busy dodging Magrathea’s missiles. The mice explain that they’d like to remove Arthur’s brain to inspect it, and chaos ensues. During a struggle, alarms suddenly start to blare for no apparent reason, giving Arthur and his friends a chance to escape. After fighting several “cops,” the gang zooms off in Slartibartfast’s hover car, boards the Heart of Gold, and leaves Magrathea behind. As they zoom through space, they decide to grab a “quick bite” at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

•   Science Fiction & Fantasy
•   The ultimate guide to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, universe and everything

The ultimate guide to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, universe and everything

Don't panic jean menzies has everything you need to know about douglas adams’ intergalactic hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy science fiction series, including each of the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy books in order and what to read next..

Last year marked the 42nd anniversary of the mind-expanding The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, which were first published in October 1979. First, the adventures of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Marvin the Paranoid Android were transmitted over the airwaves, and then came Douglas Adams' five science fiction books set in the Hitchhiker’s universe, which have inspired stage plays, TV shows and film adaptations, as well as an  annual day of celebration every 25 May. If you're not already up to speed, superfan Jean Menzies has everything you need to know about  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books.

Can't get enough science fiction? Discover our edit of the best sci-fi books.

2021 marks 42 years since  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  books were published. So what? 42 years, you ask, what kind of anniversary is that? Well, allow me to tell you why this is the only anniversary that matters.

In 1978 comic genius Douglas Adams wrote the script for a new radio show. The story followed Arthur Dent, a perfectly ordinary human man whose best friend Ford Prefect is, unbeknownst to him, an alien. It’s a good thing they are friends though, because as Arthur soon finds out the earth is in the way of a hyperspace bypass and a fleet of Vogon spaceships is about to demolish the inconvenient planet. (If only humanity had paid a visit to the local galactic planning office, they might have had more warning.) 

Arthur, however, is saved from certain death when Ford sticks out his thumb and hitches them a ride on the very ships about to destroy the Earth. Dragged into outer space by an intergalactic hitchhiker, Arthur is about to be faced with despondent robots, ear-splitting alien poetry and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, the woman who he had been kicking himself for not asking on a date at a party six months earlier. And during the course of their riotous adventures Arthur and co will learn the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything: 42.

How many The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books are there?

After the radio show was originally broadcast in 1978, Douglas Adams adapted the story to novel format the following year. One book is never enough, not with this amount of imagination, however, and he continued to expand on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe over the course of four successive novels.

All five books are available individually or bound up in what Douglas Adams dubbed his ‘trilogy in five’ (just go with it).

In addition to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novels you can also read the original radio script itself; keep an eye out for small differences between the radio show and the books because there are a few . . . 

Of course,  you could also try listening to the stories instead. Either pick up the original radio show or check out the audiobooks narrated by Stephen Fry and, later, Martin Freeman (both of whom you might recognise from the 2005 film adaptation).

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books in order

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, by douglas adams.

Arthur Dent is whisked into space by his best friend Ford Prefect – who turns out to be an alien hitchhiker. Together they join the crew of the spaceship Heart of Gold and set off to explore the universe.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

While you’re exploring outer space, why not make the most of it and stop by the famous Restaurant at the End of the Universe? Arthur Dent certainly plans to. It’s just a shame there is a crew of angry Vogons trying to hunt down Arthur and his friends before dinner.

Life, the Universe and Everything

Arthur has travelled to the most distance recesses of space, yet somehow he never expected to also travel in time. Now he’s stranded on a prehistoric version of Earth, surely things can’t get any worse?

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

With the mystery of 42 finally solved you might think it’s time to take a nap but that’s not the case for Arthur and co. When Arthur meets Fenchurch, the girl of his dreams, he gets dragged into a mission to figure out how exactly the world can be made a happy place. Just your casual Sunday afternoon.

Mostly Harmless

When all else fails, find a nice new planet and settle down – at least that’s what Arthur Dent has planned. But as we all know by now, nothing is that straightforward for our hapless human wanderer, and that nice quiet life goes out the window when his daughter turns up out of the blue.

This gorgeous 42nd anniversary gift edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is stunningly illustrated throughout by Costa Award-winner Chris Riddell.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Illustrated Edition

By douglas adams illustrated by chris riddell.

It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur's best friend has just announced that he's an alien. At this moment, they're hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and a book inscribed in large, friendly letters: DON'T PANIC.

And if all of that weren’t enough, author Eoin Colfer contributed a sixth and final instalment to the series based on unpublished material from Douglas Adams himself, aptly entitled  And Another Thing…

The Original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts

This collection is a faithful reproduction of the text which was published in 1985, featuring all twelve original radio scripts as they were broadcast for the very first time. This is a must-have piece of memorabilia for all Douglas Adams fans.

Is there a The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy film?

Over the years, the humour and creativity of Douglas Adams’ writing has garnered fans from every generation. This world-wide popularity has also inspired numerous adaptations of the stories that seep into every medium.  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  has been adapted into stage plays, TV series and a film. 

In the immediate aftermath of the radio programme, various companies produced plays based on Arthur Dent’s adventures. Between 1979 and 1980 the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Theatr Clwyd, and Rainbow Theatre all put their hand to adapting  The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy  for stage, while in 1981 a six-episode television series was produced for BBC Two. It featured many of the same actors who had voiced the original radio show, including Simon Jones as Arthur Dent.

Hitchhiker’s went from the small screen to big screen in 2005, which saw the first feature film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Martin Freeman taking on the role of Arthur Dent. Douglas Adams co-wrote the screenplay with Karey Kirkpatrick, but sadly passed away before production began. 

And there are even plans for a new series on streaming service Hulu in 2021.

Each iteration of  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  is slightly different from the last, even when Douglas Adams was responsible. This just makes the journey all the more exciting though, with new twists and turns around every corner.  

 All we need now is a West End musical (fingers crossed).

What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?

But what does the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything mean? Just like readers of the series had to, I’ve made you wait. And really, if you are planning to hop on in and discover the joys of Douglas Adams’ universe yourself you might want to stop reading here. If you’re a little on the impatient side, however, just be warned there are spoilers ahead. 

When our reluctant band of adventurers first learn that the answer they sought was simply two digits they were as stumped as readers. What on earth did 42 mean? How could that be the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything? Well, as the supercomputer Deep Thought informs them, that isn’t a question at all, and until they know the question, they will never understand the answer. Deep. 

The question itself is finally uncovered in  The Restaurant at the End of the Universe  when Arthur pulls a series of seemingly random scrabble tiles out of a bag to read: ‘what do you get when you multiply six by nine?’ Well, if you have a calculator handy then you’ll know you definitely don’t get 42. It’s all just one great big joke. The book, the story, the universe itself? You’ll have to be the judge of that.

What should I read after The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ?

It might take you a while but once you’ve read everything  Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  why not check out the   best sci-fi books of 2021 . Or try these:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over two hundred years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common? Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

When a passenger check-in desk at Terminal Two, Heathrow Airport, shot up through the roof engulfed in a ball of orange flame, the usual people tried to claim responsibility. First the IRA, then the PLO and the Gas Board. Even British Nuclear Fuels rushed out a statement to the effect that the situation was completely under control, that it was a one in a million chance, that there was hardly any radioactive leakage at all and that the site of the explosion would make a nice location for a day out with the kids and a picnic, before finally having to admit that it wasn't actually anything to do with them at all. No rational cause could be found for the explosion – it was simply designated an act of God. But, thinks Dirk Gently, which God? And why? What God would be hanging around Terminal Two of Heathrow Airport trying to catch the 15:37 to Oslo?

The Salmon of Doubt

This sublime collection dips into the wit and wisdom of the man behind  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , uncovering his unique comic musings on everything from his school-trousers to malt whisky and from the letter Y through to his own nose, via atheism, hangovers and fried eggs. These hilarious collected writings reveal the warmth, enthusiasm and ferocious intelligence behind this most English of comic writers; a man who was virtually an unofficial member of the Monty Python team. 

Don't miss Book Break's guide to everything you need to know about  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy :

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The Best Fiction Books » Science Fiction

The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, by douglas adams, recommendations from our site.

“Arthur Dent, his hero, is a very ordinary—dull, some would say—Earth man, who discovers that his house is about to be demolished by bulldozers. As he’s dealing with county council officialdom, a friend called Ford Prefect helps him escape the destruction of the Earth, which is being blown up by alien bureaucrats. It’s one scale up. That’s the joke. For the novel, he took the first four episodes of the radio show and made them work as a novel with his own unique sense of flair and verve. That sense of humour. People who hate science fiction liked it because they thought it was taking the piss out of science fiction. And people who like science fiction liked it anyway. So it appealed broadly, to different audiences.” Read more...

The Best Douglas Adams Books

Kevin Jon Davies , Film Director

“I miss Douglas Adams. He’s been dead since 2001. He occupied that area for me between friend and acquaintance. He was, I suppose, a work friend. The first book I ever wrote that did anything was The Companion to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . I got to work with Douglas on it. Douglas Adams was a genius. A lot of the pleasure in reading Douglas Adams is in jokes that are elegantly and delightfully tuned while also commenting on the human condition.” Read more...

Comfort Reads

Neil Gaiman , Novelist

“This is a tale with countless humorous moments, and it’s so bizarre that I instantly fell in love with it.” Read more...

The Best Young Adult Science Fiction Books

Estelle Francis , Children

“There’s a lot in this trilogy that’s subtle and buried. For example, there’s a lot of talk about the bigness of space that really gives you a sense of the actual size of space in a way that a textbook typically doesn’t.” Read more...

The best books on Cosmology

David Goldberg , Physicist

“Rereading this book is a way to reboot your brain anytime you’re feeling stale in your thinking.” Read more...

The best books on How the World Works

Venkatesh Rao , Entrepreneurs & Business People

“This is the Bible of science fiction. It’s funny and anyone with the remotest interest in science fiction must read it.” Read more...

The best books on How to Win Elections

Marko Rakar , Political Commentator

The audiobook of  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  is narrated by the British actor, Stephen Fry .

Narrator: Stephen Fry

Length: 5 hours and 51 minutes

Great Actors Read Great Books

Other books by Douglas Adams

42: the wildly improbable ideas of douglas adams by douglas adams & edited by kevin jon davies, dirk gently's holistic detective agency by douglas adams, the meaning of liff by douglas adams, last chance to see by douglas adams & mark carwardine, our most recommended books, the left hand of darkness by ursula le guin, the dispossessed by ursula le guin, the word for world is forest by ursula le guin, world war z: an oral history of the zombie war by max brooks, dune by frank herbert, the martian by andy weir.

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