To say that Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a book that captured the zeitgeist of the late 1970s and the 1980s is an understatement. Beginning as a BBC comedy radio series, it would mutate into versions in print, on stage, in comics, and on screens small and big, becoming an international sensation. Published as a novel in 1979, it was an immediate bestseller, and its reach with readers only grew as it was expanded by its author into a “trilogy” of five volumes. Douglas Adams’s insouciant way with the definition of “trilogy” is par for his book’s course through outer space, and an emblem of the book’s appeal: It’s silly—cleverly, brilliantly, gloriously, ingeniously, and at times profoundly silly. Despite its technological trimmings and intergalactic itinerary, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a virtuoso performance on the core instruments of British humor, from Three Men in a Boat to Monty Python. Think P. G. Wodehouse in space, complete with the zany names, and you’ll get the idea.
Doug Adams is the science fiction version of PG Wodehouse. His hilarious books were funny and groundbreaking when they debuted, and like all classics, they remain relevant to this day.
Unbearably horrifically quotably funny. You can’t not read this and know anything useful about eternity, especially the part that doesn’t happen yet. Like reading A Brief History of Time, backwards, in a mirror.
It’s the funniest book ever with geeky humor! Exceptional use of the English language - Adams has exploited it to give a new shade of meaning like when he wrote that “the ship tried to right itself but wronged itself instead”. There are many gems of quotes from this book. It even has a cult following.
I agree with one caveat: while this book is funny and written well, I've never seen the need to read it more than once. So, yes, read it, but find it at the library or something.
The sequels never measured up to the original book, but the first book in the series might just be one of the best books ever written. Full of inventive ideas and lateral thinking.
I find endless joy in absurdity, and The Hitchhiker's Guide sure delivers plenty of absurdity. Short enough to read in a day, snappy, and widely influential, this book (and the series in its entirety) is a gem.
This book is really funny. I rate the books I read so I know if I want to read it again. This one I gave a vvvgd (or very very very good). Definitely a book to reread.
Douglas Adams' wit (Monty Python style) has always been a favorite of mine and this book has it in spades. I have read it many times and this book has a permanent place on my shelf. If you are not knowledgeable in British culture many of the jokes may be lost to you, so reader be warned. The book was originally a radio show, and there is also a low budget 70's TV mini series available on some of the streaming sites.
I mean come on it's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's Alice in Wonderland but set in space. Of course you should read this book, and hey, maybe even watch the TV series as well!
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