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Summary: Dont miss this
Review: Having read and loved Adams classics while in high school, I saw this and decided to revisit these volumes that I had always relished. I felt like I was reading them for the first time. This is an absolute must read for virtually everyone. If you have even the smallest funny-bone, any interest in british humor or even a desire to look at the universe from a fresh perspective, these books wont dissapoint. Having them all together in one volume is just a bonus, because, lets face it- if you had only bought the first volume of his "trilogy" to read, there is virtually no way you wouldn't end up buying the others anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend after I picked it off his bookshelf and read the first few pages. I had it finished in a week. Now I'm thinking about getting my own darn copy.
About a previous review:
Depends? Umm ... aren't those the ... I've seen the commericals where they .... do you mean Klee-nex? Seriously, this book is so funny it made you defecate on youself? I dunno, milk shot out my nose once, but nothing warranting the use of adult diapers. Maybe I'm just not as excitable, I'll leave it at that.
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Summary: Perhaps the greatest book ever written
Review: I have never been much of a science fiction fan, so when my uncle gave me this book, I was a little bit skeptical, thinking it would be just another book about aliens and teleportation and space ships. How wrong I was! Well, it was about aliens and the like, but it was also probably the funniest book I have ever read. It tells the tale of an average, if not slightly depressed man, who, one day, unexpectedly finds himself travelling the galaxy with an alien named Ford Prefect. The dialogues are wonderful, the characters hysterical, and the stories are ... I don't know that there is an adjective good enough to describe them. For anyone who has a sense of humor, this book is for you. It will leave you rolling on the floor in fits of laughter.
Rating:
Summary: FUNNY!
Review: I picked up this book not knowing what to expect and 10 pages in to it I still didn't know what the heck was going on but I was rolling on the floor because I was laughing so hard. You do finaly understand this novel, though there isn't much to understand, and it just makes you laugh. My favorite character was the manic depressive robot but all the characters are unique and witty. Adams is a genuis. Don't Panic!
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I read this book expecting a lot - I had heard numerous references that were supposedly to this book, so I decided to finally read it and find out what all the hype was about.
I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. Quite to the contrary, the book exceeded my expectations. It's beautifully crafted, and the humor is so whimsical and Pythonesque, that it's both clever and absurd at the same time.
It was especially great to read one seemingly absurd part of a story (like a detailed description of a flowerpot hitting the ground), and then, several books later, find out how it ties with the story. Adams does an excellent job and bringing things together - reading these series is like watching a puzzle unfold in front of your eyes.
Another great aspect was finally reading about the many references found to the story - you'll never look at number 42 the same way.
While many people have given negative reviews to the last book (Mostly Harmless), I thought that while it was a bit hard to follow, it wasn't any different from any other H2G2 book.
If you're a Python fan, you owe it to yourself to read this book (Adams wrote several skits with the Pythons and was a close friend). If you're not, you might still like it, if you like whimsical, clever humor.
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Summary: Review 4 school, the ultimate hitchhiker's guide
Review: I think is a wonderful book. It is written so amzingly funny. Although it's a really thick book, you stay keened on it.
Douglas adams is just a wondeful writer. He has got allot of humour and mixed it with a great story. I really loved to read this book and I hope mr. Adams writes allot more of this kind of stories. It was WONDERFUL
goodbye Michael
Rating:
Summary: A delightful read!
Review: I was hooked on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the first page of the first book. This collection of all books is a fantastic set. For me these stories really joke with our very existence on Earth and remind me how very much there is to this universe that we don't know. They are pleasant, fast reads and very humorous. Nothing can touch the first book on humor, but others do a good job. I didn't really like So Long and Thanks for All the Fish too much, and the Zaphod short story is a waste. The other books are delightful and a good read. I highly recommend this book as a gift to dorky guys who are interested in technology and space. My girlfriend got it for me and it was right on the mark! Farewell, Douglas Adams, and we thank you!
Rating:
Summary: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Review: In The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Arthur Dent lives a peaceful with his only friend Ford Prefect who is realy an alien. One morning Arthur wakes up and there are many bulldozers outside of his house. They are going to nock it down to make a by pass. Aurthur is not happy about it and lays in front of one of the bulldozers. His friend Ford comes and lifts him up. They go to a bar and Ford tells Arthur that the world is going to end very soon. They go outside and get on a Vogon Spaceship. Soon after they get on the ship they are throne off of it into space. Another ship that is being driven by Fords cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is the former president of the Universe. Zaphod and his compaion Trisha Mcmillan have stolen a valuble ship called the Heart of Gold. This a peice of government property. The four of them are trying to find a planet to live on. When they find the planet that Zaphod had in mind, a recording came through. It said "Don,t come any closer or else well launch nucealar bombs at you." Zaphod did not mind the recording and went even closer. The missils miss the ship and they went to the planet safely. They found out that the planet was already occupied so they left. The Vogons wanted to kill Zaphod so they launched missles at the ship. Luckily the ship dodged the missles and they went to go and eat at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. This book is the first of a five book series. --The is tex refers to the paperback copy
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel
Review: In the novel, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, the author uses direct and indirect characterization to effectively tell the story of the adventure faced by Arthur Dent shortly after finding out that his best friend is not human. Ford Prefect, Arthur's friend, is in fact an alien from Betelgeuse, and right from the beginning he is obviously dragging Arthur into some sort of trouble. The result is a joyride from planet to planet, and eventually to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Arthur, increasingly homesick, encounters dozens of problems ranging from a tea-making machine that does not make tea, to missiles flying at him from an "abandoned" planet. Arthur's whacky trip across the universe takes him to meet many interesting people, including the excessively eccentric Zaphod Beedlebrox, and even a female earthling that has been traveling the galaxy for some time. Each character he meets is completely unique, and their characteristics are revealed in a variety of ways. Sometimes, Adams simply describes the character to you. Other times, he indirectly reveals their true selves by the way they interact with each other and their environment. For instance when Ford keeps his calm when confronted by an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters, wanting to read their version of Hamlet to him.
To Adams, it seems very important to have a character driven story. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the absolute epitome of this. The plot swings back and forth drastically according to the characters' whims, and each character reacts to each event in their own way. Adams even seems to add personality to inanimate objects, like the "Improbability Drive", a device that has infinite possibilities to do anything based on the improbability that it will happen, when it manifests a bowl of petunias and a whale several miles above a planet's atmosphere. As they plummet to the ground, Adams relates what goes through both the whale's, and the petunias' minds as the ground rushes up to meet them. This book is enjoyable because of the far out humor, and the way that each character contributes to that humor. While there is not a linear plot, Arthur Dent has one goal that he does strive for: to have a cup of tea, and get back home to earth to watch a game of Cricket. The absurdities and oddities in this book make it much more fun, especially because many readers should be able to relate to one character or other.
Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an overall radiant book. His use of characterization adds to the story, as well as the humor, of the book. Each character's unique personality, the bizarre hilarity, and the imaginative encounters the party has, all bring an excellent book to the point of brilliance. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy easily warrants five stars, for it's superiority and the laughs that it will bring when read.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting
Review: interesting concept, pretty neat read.
you should check out something by Antony Flew
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