Rating: 
Summary: "Drink up. The world's about to end."
Review: This is Ford Prefect's tmely advice for Arthur Dent minutes before the earth is obliterated by the Vogons. This is also one of the many witty and memorable quotes you will want to spew forth to your friends after reading the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.The Guide is a witty social satire that pokes fun at the things we earthlings take too seriously: the meaning of life, religion, work, and politics. The Guide entertained me with its humorous, gut wrenching absurdity while educating me with its witty dialogue and sardonic social satire. The election of the nihilistic puppethead president Zaphod Beeblebrox pokes fun at the very hypocrisy that is politics. A great, quick read that will leave an indelible impression - and leave your sides hurting from laughing so much.
"Does it really, cosmically speaking, matter if I don't get up and go to work?"
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Summary: the gateway to the trilogy
Review: This, the most famous book of the late Douglas Adams, is the first book in the five volume Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It is quite possibly among the funniest books ever written. Arthur Dent wakes up one morning to the sound of a bulldozer outside of his residence. His house is to be demolished to make way for a bypass. After a series of events he goes to a bar with his friend Ford Prefect--who reveals that he himself is not human. Ford tells Arthur that he is leaving Earth in order to escape its destruction (it is being destroyed in order to pave the way for an interstellar bypass). So begins the epic that is Adams' magnum opus. One reason I love The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and the rest of the trilogy) is that it explores the theme of life as a journey towards hidden purposes. At the same time, it manages to show all the chaos along the way. It is within the pages that we first encounter the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything--namely 42. The search for the question to the answer is preoccupies much of the trilogy's later stories. After several readings of this first volume, the scene that sticks most in my mind is the internal conflicts that take place within the soul of the English bureaucrat (a direct male-line descendant of Ghengis Khan) sent to destroy Arthur's home. There are few scenes more hilarious in the rest of the series. I give the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy my full recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Sci-Fi
Review: And a great comedy book. I can't stop smiling every time I recall some of the passages in the book. A masterpiece!
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Summary: Lives Up To Its Rep
Review: The hook for me, who is no science fiction genre reader, was the bit about the Vogons, the species that tortures its captives by forcing them to listen to bad poetry. Having been promised that, I picked it up and thoroughly enjoyed the high-minded wit and glee that endows THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. That and the book is rather short, making it perfect for when the mood calls for light reading but not junk food. Adams obviously had fun with this, kicking at all matter of conventions, including the genre in which he chooses to phrase his satire. His quintet of travelers are personable, even the self pitying robot. Written some time ago, the book presages some technology that is beginning to appear now; the titular travel guide referenced throughout the book, for which one character is a writer, resembles a Palm Pilot, for instance. My only complaint as an outsider to the genre is that there is no real climax and resolution in the story; after the initial, hilarious exposition, it heads into episodic adventure and just ends en route to another destination. Which means, I have to read the next book. I suppose there are worse punishments out there. This small hardcover edition is quite nice and a bargain. Go for it instead of a paperback.
Rating:
Summary: A hysterical, yet edjucational book that you should read.
Review: As soon as you hear the tittle, "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", you know something is up and/or going to happen. This science fiction will last a life time, er make that ten life times. The protagonist, an earthling by the name of Arthur Dent, is faced with very unusual events. His friends, who come from a variety of different planets, are trying to teach him about living and handling problems in the Universe, unfortunatly we know the answer to the Universe but not the question. Arthur has many people and creatures to deal with. These include: Zaphod Beeblebrox, The Great Computer, Marvin, and The Heart of Gold. In this book, you will find out that humans are not the second smartest animals on Earth, but that we are the third smartest animals on Earth, that the image of infinity is much worse than infinity itself, and how to translate a Dolphin's message of attempting a backwards flip through a hoop while whistling the national anthem. In other words, this is a hysterical, but edjucational book that every one should read.
Rating:
Summary: Just a short Correction
Review: Greetings hoopy froods from America-land
Just a short correction for you. The Radio series (on BBC Radio 4) came first, then the original books were written from the radio script.
For all of those interested, a new radio series is going to be broadcast (again on BBC Radio 4), in September this year. See the BBC web site for details. Also, a film is being made at this momment. Personally, I don't think any film can match the comic genius of Douglas, but hopefully I'll be proved wrong.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a hilariously ironic sci-fi novel.
Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a great book for people who not only like science fiction, but like humorous novels too. Douglas Adams throws in a mix of humor and irony in a science fiction setting,and that's what I personally like about the book. For example, you have to laugh at Arthur Dent who is upset that his house is being demolished, when little does he know that his planet will be demolished shortly afterward. The Hitchhiker's Guide also makes comments about the human race that aren't just funny, but also make you think as well. My favorite quote from this book is, "This planet has-or rather had-a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy." I've read it 3 or 4 times this year since I bought it. This book is a definite must read! If you like the Hitchhiker's Guide then I recommend you read the sequels too because the story doesn't end when you finish the book. When I finished the Hitchhiker's Guide for the first time, I had to run out to the book store and buy the next book. Now I'd have to say that that Douglas Adams is my favorite author and I hope other people become fans too.
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Summary: After 20 years it is still funny
Review: Twenty years ago this book came into my hands and for one entire week I laughed my head off. This is one of the most beautiful pieces of holographically insane literature I've ever read. The fact that it is science fiction is almost irrelevant. Some pages are so nutty/funny I'd be left gasping for air after each paragraph trying to smother uncontrollable laughter. Other pages, whilst not as funny, were so absurdly pedantic that you were left adrift in amazement. One of the most successful literary attempts at psychedelic writing in my 40+ years of reading. The book is miraculously manic; I hope you enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Just a short Correction
Review: Greetings hoopy froods from America-land
Just a short correction for you. The Radio series (on BBC Radio 4) came first, then the original books were written from the radio script.
For all of those interested, a new radio series is going to be broadcast (again on BBC Radio 4), in September this year. See the BBC web site for details. Also, a film is being made at this momment. Personally, I don't think any film can match the comic genius of Douglas, but hopefully I'll be proved wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Best if read regularly
Review: I read it once a year. If you are not much of a reader, this book will change that!
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