Rating: 
Summary: You Almost Can't Ask For Anything More
Review:
While reading this book, you will frequently find yourself debating a few things in your mind. One of those things is: "I really need sleep, but I need to read this book more, I just don't know what to do..."
This book is really a collection of all five books in the Hitchhiker's trilogy (um, ya, five books shouldn't be in a trilogy but thats how this series works), written by Douglas Adams. However, I had no previous experience with these books or with Douglas Adams and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them in this form. I couldn't image having read one of the books, then having to wait to get the other one. This series really is meant to be read in its entirety. The entire story flows throughout each book and needs to be read in order too.
So here is the story, a terrible accident is about to befall earth which drags the main character, Arthur Dent, on a wild romp throughout a hilarious Galaxy. Arthur just wants to get back home to Earth which leads to the stunning climax. This series is full of one liners, two liners, and even some three liners. If your a fan of British comedy, British satire, sci-fi, or just great literature then Douglas Adams weaves a tale that will appeal to you.
The first book in the series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy really should be required reading in school, it really is that good.
Most "funny books" wouldn't even attempt to dissect the absurdity of our so-called civilization, this is what sets the Hitchhiker series apart from anything else. At points you see that while it may be funny -- all it really is, is insightful. The ridiculousness of humanity is displayed brilliantly -- through aliens. You'll find yourself laughing out loud.
As far as the ending to everything, it is one of the best endings of any series ever (in my opinion of course). It really instills an important moral, whether you get it at first or not, you may have to think about it a while. The ending also wraps up everything and makes perfect logical sense. The spontaneous happenings will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end too.
This series deals with what it really means to be alive and what the meaning of life really is. Isn't that really what everyone wants to know anyways? The answer might be so funny you'll die laughing!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is being made into a movie too, due out in 2005. I don't see how it could live up to the high standard set by this book but we will have to see.
If you enjoy this I'd highly recommend The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, a somewhat unrelated (not sci-fi) but very amusing and FUN book. Short, quick, and funny -- that's how I like them.
Rating:
Summary: 6 X 7?... Too obvious.
Review: A great book or rather a great "trilogy" of five books and a short story. This should be required reading in high school. The "Red badge of courage" can gather dust for all I care.
Rating: 
Summary: But it gets old by book five, so, be sure to pace yourself.
Review: A whimsical, witty satire that remains in the realm of the rediculousness and sillyness throughout. There is nothing subtle about the satire either. The story begins as Aurther Dent's house is to be destroyed for a by-way, but that doesn't matter because the earth is to be destroyed to make room for an inter-steller by-way; right away, the stroy is rediculous. Clever inventions will keep the reader turning the pages just to see what strange thing will befall Aurther Dent next. The first book is a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, unpredictable, untouchable
Review: Adams takes the sci-fi genre and turns it on its head in an unpreditcable, hilarious series of books that are not only interesting and unpredictable, but keep you laughing hysterically from start to finish.The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy takes the entire Hitchhicker series and crams it into one huge book (nice and easy to find). DO NOT be deterred by the size of this book. Boring chapters ... well they don't really exist. Its a quick enjoyable read the whole way through. 5 stars: A MUST READ. I'd recommend this to anyone, anywhere anytime. Don't sit mindlessly in front of the TV watching tired ideas reused over and over in boring sitcoms. Let the Hitchhicker's guide take you on an unparalled journey through a universe that is as elaborate, marvelous and well though out as it is hilarious. Note: I won't summarize any of the story for you in this review. Its simply so elaborate and immersive that I could not possibly begin to explain it without taking thrity minutes of your time. JUST READ IT YOURSELF!
Rating:
Summary: A Cosmic Comedy Classic
Review: As eccentric as its author, The Guide is a must-read. It's so good 800 pages isn't nearly enough. A dubious plot and a motley crew of neurotic, self-absorbed creature/characters carry this zany book along at a pace comparable to that of the infinite improbability drive. It alternates between confusing and enlightening but is consistantly and undeniably hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Grab a towel, a bathrobe, and this book, and "Don't Panic!"
Review: Do you know where your towel is? If you do, chances are that you, according to the logic -- or lack thereof -- of Douglas Adams' zany 5-book "trilogy" -- are thus very well prepared to escape from the Earth one terrible Thursday afternoon and be whisked away shortly before the Vogons demolish the planet to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. It also helps a great deal if one of your best friends turns out to be an alien from Betelguese and not an out of work actor from Guilford. It also helps a great deal more if your friend is named Ford Prefect and is a roving researcher for that handy and impractical reference work, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Perhaps one of the best-selling references ever -- beating out the Encyclopedia Galactica and the memoirs of "adult entertainer" Eccentrica Gallumbits from Eroticon Six -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy will be the repository of knowledge and wisdom even as you, like Adams' hapless protagonist Arthur Dent, criss-cross the galaxy in stolen spacecraft, wander through weird and exotic worlds (including primitive Earth), and meet strange and fascinating beings such as: Zaphod Beeblebrox, rogue, con artist, ladies' man, and infamous party crasher (and President of the Galaxy!)
Trillian, aka Tricia McMillan, a beautiful girl Arthur had met at a party in Islington and went off with a two-headed party crasher who claimed to be from outer space before Arthur could ask her for her phone number. Slartibartfast, the designer of the Earth, whose proudest achievement was earning an award for designing the Norweigian fjords.
Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, commander of the Vogon Construction Fleet detailed to demolish the late, mostly harmless Earth; a bureaucrat so rigid that he wouldn't lift a finger to save his grandmother from from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without going through a lot of paperwork...and trust me, Vogon paperwork rituals ensure certain devourment for Vogon grandmothers. The late comic author first conceived this mix of science fiction/parody as a BBC radio series which was so successful it spun off five novels, a TV miniseries (which has aired here on PBS stations), abridged audio albums, and interactive software. This Wings Books omnibus edition contains the five novels of the increasingly inaccurately named "Hitchhiker's Trilogy" -- 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, and Mostly Harmless. It also comes with a bonus -- but less funny -- story, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe. So if you want to survive the Earth's demise and see the galaxy, make sure you are wearing something more substantial than pajamas and a ratty bathrobe, watch the skies for flying saucers, start worrying when all the dolphins on the planet vanish, and keep your eyes peeled for an electronic gizmo with the words "Don't Panic" printed in large friendly letters on the cover. And for Pete's sake, always, always know where your towel is!
Rating:
Summary: Almost 100% sci-fi bliss
Review: Douglas Adams is an incredibly inventive, smart, and above all funny writer. Some of the stuff in these five novels is just nonsense, but a kind of free-spirited and humorous nonsense, and Adams knows it. That's why he writes about things like Vogon poetry, the loudest band in the universe, and intelligent shades of blue. It's absurd and I love it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy should be required reading. It's hilarious and breezy that you can finish it in a day if you're a marathon reader (it took me about four, but I go to school, too). The combination of Guide to Galaxy and Restaurant at the End of the Universe is great. Those two books are the most consistently entertaining, funny, and creative in the whole series. The sort of thought that went in to writing the Restaurant at the End of the Universe (where time seems to have no boundaries) is amazing. Adams is truly brilliant. (spoilers ahead) And the way the two end-Arthur and Ford on a prehistoric Earth, is ironic and smart. Read back to back, it reads like one flowing novel, filled with so many clever musings on the nature of humans, time, and space, that it amazes you how impressively Adams juggled humor, with some genuinely interesting sci-fi and thoughtful musings on human nature, too.
Life, the Universe, and Everything is an okay book. It's important to know that the books don't really belong to one-another on a set timeline, because Life, the Universe, and Everything, will ruin Restaurant for you. Why? Because it's so anti-climactic. In fact, Adams plays around with the characters too much in that novel-but by the time you finish the whole "trilogy" you realize that it doesn't really matter, because these books aren't about getting caught up with complex characters. You go where the action takes you. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish will bring a smile to your face, though. Although the series takes a noticeably darker turn towards the middle, the carefree and exuberant way Adams crafts Fenchurch's and Arthur's relationship is great-it's another quick read.
Which brings us to Mostly Harmless. I probably sound stubborn, but I don't want to read about the Earth. It's sort of depressing and extremely anti-climactic to the whole series. Mostly Harmless' "destruction of the Earth/handling of the Guide" story just seemed so out of place and doesn't flow at all with the rest of the novels.
You could go on forever about what kind of mind Adams' had. About Arthur, the Paranoid Android, the Ultimate Question to the Ultimate Answer, mice that run the world, houses whose outside's are the inside. But you really just have to read this fine collection of farcical sci-fi for yourself. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly Harmless
Review: Douglas Adams puts it all into perspective in this fun to read book. His dry British humor seems to sneak up on you. The main character is concerned about his house getting bull dozed down to make way for a bypass and little does he know that the whole world is about to suffer the same fate. He escapes with his old friend that turned out to be an alien from Betelgeuse.The president of the universe who had just stolen a new spaceship picks them up. The parallels Adams makes to the "going ons" with them and how things work in Government, and the like, make the book interesting.
I just finished reading it for the third time in about 20 years.
Rating:
Summary: The most pragmatic book....
Review: Ever wonder about the meaning of life? Well, look no further - this book has it (literally!). Only catch is, it doesn't offer the "question" on what the meaning of life is (that's a drag). All along the way you will also be able to enjoy perhaps the single funniest book you'll ever read. Adams has a quirky, bizarre, off-kilter sense of humor. Just about everyone I know can't help but burst out laughing at his antics. With that in mind, I would recommend this book (as well as all other of Adam's works)for anyone who has a sense of humor. This one will have you frolicking thru the galaxy, laughing out loud - and loving every minute of it!
Rating: 
Summary: Typos and mistakes?!
Review: Every copy I've seen of the "Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has had some very glaring and distracting typos in it. I wish I could tell you exactly how many, but I couldn't make it past Arthur Dent expressing how "upsest" he was about the earth's demise. I find it offensive that the publisher would put out such a crappy printing of a wonderful, classic work of Science Fiction. Perhaps I'm overreacting but I was pretty "upsest" myself.
Maybe it was just a bad printing batch. I don't know. But just to be safe, I would recommend getting the individual books.
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