Rating: 
Summary: Farewell, Douglas
Review: The world was robbed of one it's greatest and funniest writers on May 11, 2001, when Douglas Adams, author of the hugely popular "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" and "Dirk Gently" books, died from a heart attack at the age of 49. As a writer, Adams was a true original. His style of humor was gloriously funny, and he certainly had a most unique way with words. His final book, the posthumous release "The Salmon Of Doubt," is a collection of assorted writings, including essays, e-mails, interviews, lectures and letters that Adams had given or written over the years, as well as an unfinished third "Dirk Gently" novel that Adams had been sporadically working on for many years. Much of the material was culled from the disk drives of Adams' collection of Macintosh computers, and we, Adams' faithful readers, can certainly be grateful for these golden DNA nuggets. The book contains such gems as Adams discussing his childhood, his nose, his friendship with dogs Maggie and Trudie, his great introduction to Procol Harum (a favorite band of Adams AND myself) just before they take the stage, his advice about how to make a cup of really good tea, his attempts to get "Hitchhiker's" made as a feature film (which is *finally* happening in 2005), and his lecture about the existence of an artificial God. There's also a hilarious sketch about Genghis Khan, a short "Hitchhiker's" story involving Zaphod Beeblebrox, and, finally, 11 chapters of the unfinished Dirk Gently novel, entitled "The Salmon Of Doubt," which, although it is quite obviously an unpolished work-in-progress, is still very funny (though I'm saddened that we'll never know what happens to Dirk after Chapter 11, which is a terrible shame). Douglas Adams had so much more left to give to this world, he had so much more left to write. But we can take comfort in the great, hysterically funny gifts he did leave us---"Hitchhiker's" (not only the books but also the radio & TV series, and the upcoming feature film), "Dirk Gently," the travelogue book "Last Chance To See" (which succeeds as a serious piece sprinkled with great humor throughout), and his writing for the "Doctor Who" TV series. Douglas, as a longtime fan of yours, I just want to thank you for all the good cheer you've given me over the years. I will treasure your work & your memory 'til the end of my days, and perhaps even after that. "The Salmon Of Doubt" is a very fond farewell to the late, great Douglas Noel Adams.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly His Best
Review: This book contains a conspicuous collection of DNA texts, most of them having been published prehumously. These texts vary considerably in style, depth, age, and length, giving a broad perspective on Adams' approach to writing and even his approach to life. As the author had some rough times during his short existence, a few passages may seem surprisingly depressing from such a humorous author. This, in itself, is quite interesting though it may sound a bit too much like the "sad clown syndrome" at times.
These texts are arranged in a rough chronological order. As Adams' darkest moments seem to have happened between the mid-80s and mid-90s, the optimistic candor and freshness of both his early and later texts balance the comparative gloominess of that middle period. As such, reading the book linearly could provide for a not-so-unhollywoodian "all is well that ends well" continuity though picking through texts at random obviously intensifies the quality of the Adamsesque experience.
By itself, the actual novel contained in the book represents an amazing piece of Adamsism. Unfinished, it stands in all its clever whackiness as the editor has seen fit not to alter it too much. While it surely is sad that the author won't be able to tell us "how it ends," the eleven finished chapters are of the raw beauty of mating hippopotami in a Venezuelan bowling alley. Even more so than for any of DNA's other books, it leaves a lot to the imagination. Fortunately, there are enough imaginative thoughts in these little pieces of genius to generate several dissertations, novels, and pound cakes.
These eleven chapters made more than my day.
Rating: 
Summary: Two books, really: Adams' articles and a short story
Review: This book is really two books. The first is a collection of articles written by or about Douglas Adams. The second is the short story 'The Salmon of Doubt' which is said to have been rescued from Adams's computer after his death.The collection of articles was so fascinating that the story, appearing toward the end of the text, failed to sustain my interest. If reading for the articles, make sure to look to the end of the book to read what Richard Dawkins had to say about Adams after his untimely death.
Rating:
Summary: More a sort of apres-vie
Review: This is a distinctly different book to his popular novels, but I enjoyed it a lot. Mostly composed of non-fiction pieces, it tends to dwell on the obsessions familiar to his readers - mainly ecology, computers, language and music, in approximately that order. His self-styled "radical atheism" gets an airing too, especially in the best piece in the collection, "Is There An Artifical God?". The Dirk Gently novel included at the end of the book isn't merely unfinished, it's only half-started. But it's good stuff anyway, and the central mystery is intriguing. Shame we'll never know how it turns out - though given the way Douglas Adams used to work, the chances are that he hadn't the foggiest idea either. Unfortunately the short story "The Private Life Of Genghis Khan" which appeared in the first printing of this book has since been removed for legal reasons (in short, it was based on a sketch he wrote with Graham Chapman, whose estate blocked its appearance) but if you really want to read it, you can track it down in the 1986 "Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book" where it first appeared. The other story from that source, "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", is an excellent addition to the Hitchhikers' saga, though many readers will already be familiar with it as it has appeared in some Hitchhikers compilations. But it's the non-fiction that makes this book worth buying. It's a side of Douglas Adams' work that is less well-known but just as enchanting - and as humourous - as his novels. Truly, there was a frood who really knew where his towel was.
Rating:
Summary: Smashing...
Review: You know, it's not easy to put in words what I think of this book; all I can say is that it's one of the best books I've ever read. I found myself laughing outloud many times (never experienced that before). Douglas Adams is indeed a genius. It definitly deserves 5 stars (if not more). I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy the easy flow of the book, the sarcasm and the wit. If you're feeling uninspired, blue or simply just bored, then I definitly recommend this title for you... you'll feel so much different after a few pages :-)
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