Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Wings Books (1989), Edition: 1st, 624 pages
Description
"Includes an essay entitled "Introduction: A Guide to the Guide," the complete texts of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; and So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, as well as the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe."" --provided by Goodreads.
User reviews
LibraryThing member greeniezona
A re-read. Obviously.
Read the entire thing aloud to Jefferson as bedtime story night after night. It took ages.
In recognition of both my father reading the first book to me as a bedtime story when I was a wee lass, and Andrew's many, many readings of this book in grad school. Bedtime story often
Thoughts on reading it all again: The first book and the fourth book are definitely my favorites. The second and third I could largely do without, except you'd miss the whole "Arthur learns to fly" bit. Otherwise the middle two seem so muddly and meandering. I got very impatient with them. My sister recently wrote of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series representing mastery: "There are no wobbly to-and-fro plotlines" in that saga. The Hitchhiker's Guide is pretty much the opposite of that.
That said, I love the mice, and the dolphins, and the Rain God, and Arthur. And, of course, most of the bits from the Guide. I love Trillian and Fenchurch, both. I love all the bits about the fjords.
To make completely modern, all you would have to do is replace every instance of "digital watches" with "smart phones."
Read the entire thing aloud to Jefferson as bedtime story night after night. It took ages.
In recognition of both my father reading the first book to me as a bedtime story when I was a wee lass, and Andrew's many, many readings of this book in grad school. Bedtime story often
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became a whole family affair.Thoughts on reading it all again: The first book and the fourth book are definitely my favorites. The second and third I could largely do without, except you'd miss the whole "Arthur learns to fly" bit. Otherwise the middle two seem so muddly and meandering. I got very impatient with them. My sister recently wrote of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series representing mastery: "There are no wobbly to-and-fro plotlines" in that saga. The Hitchhiker's Guide is pretty much the opposite of that.
That said, I love the mice, and the dolphins, and the Rain God, and Arthur. And, of course, most of the bits from the Guide. I love Trillian and Fenchurch, both. I love all the bits about the fjords.
To make completely modern, all you would have to do is replace every instance of "digital watches" with "smart phones."
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LibraryThing member danconsiglio
Adams is a funny funny man. His entire Hitchhikers Guide series should be read as one book since they all tie in so closely, anyway. Good old sci/fi nonsense! It's nice to know that the brits are funnier than that BBC crap that comes on PBS late on Saturday nights. Does anyone on the entire planet
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find "Are You Being Served" funny? Why do they think they can send their drivel to us? I don't think they're actually our allies anymore. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jamski
The Epitome of Awesomeness. All four of the original Hitchhiker's guide novels in one easy to carry volume, plus an additional short story that brings up a little extra background. If you've seen the movie…well, you need to read the books anyway, there was so much different between the stories as
Fans of Pythonesque humor will rejoice though "serious" sci-fi fans may or may not "get it"; your mileage may vary. But there's a reason why millions have fallen in love with this story of interstellar travel on the cheap, and how to deal with your planet's sudden destruction in favor of a galactic freeway. Brew a cup of proper English tea, sit back and enjoy the ride.
My highest recommendation.
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written, and as they were presented on screen. Hell, there were differences from the books to the radio scripts…all of this is more-or-less explained by Douglas in his introduction, which also contains detailed instructions on how to leave the earth if you are thus inclined. And who amongst us hasn't been at one time or another.Fans of Pythonesque humor will rejoice though "serious" sci-fi fans may or may not "get it"; your mileage may vary. But there's a reason why millions have fallen in love with this story of interstellar travel on the cheap, and how to deal with your planet's sudden destruction in favor of a galactic freeway. Brew a cup of proper English tea, sit back and enjoy the ride.
My highest recommendation.
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LibraryThing member jfetting
It's nice to have all 6 books of the books in the trilogy (ha!) gathered into one big volume, so that I don't need to go searching for the next book in the series when I've finished the previous. Once I start Hitchhiker's, I keep going until I finish Mostly Harmless. With the fancy leather binding,
The series itself is fantastic, hilarious, and addictive. The "eddys in the space/time continuum" "And this is his sofa?" exchange in, I think, the third book reduces me to tears, I giggle so hard. Few books have the power to make me laugh out loud, and this one does over and over, even after multiple readings.
The plot follows the adventures of a Brit, Arthur Dent, from his attempts to prevent his house from being bulldozed to his interactions with his daughter. Along the way the Earth gets blown up, he zips around the universe with some of the funniest characters ever written (Marvin! Zaphod! Ford Prefect!), lands on a prototype of Earth (populated by hairdressers, etc.), and attempts to decipher the meaning of life, the universe and everything. And much, much more. Just read it. Even if you aren't into sci-fi. You'll be glad you did.
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I can pretend that this is Serious Literature!The series itself is fantastic, hilarious, and addictive. The "eddys in the space/time continuum" "And this is his sofa?" exchange in, I think, the third book reduces me to tears, I giggle so hard. Few books have the power to make me laugh out loud, and this one does over and over, even after multiple readings.
The plot follows the adventures of a Brit, Arthur Dent, from his attempts to prevent his house from being bulldozed to his interactions with his daughter. Along the way the Earth gets blown up, he zips around the universe with some of the funniest characters ever written (Marvin! Zaphod! Ford Prefect!), lands on a prototype of Earth (populated by hairdressers, etc.), and attempts to decipher the meaning of life, the universe and everything. And much, much more. Just read it. Even if you aren't into sci-fi. You'll be glad you did.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hilarious)
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The Restaurant at the end of the Universe (Not as funny as the others. Too short but some cool ideas.)
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Life, the Universe and Everything (Anything that makes you cry from laughter more than a couple times gets 5 stars!)
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So long, and Thanks for All
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The Restaurant at the end of the Universe (Not as funny as the others. Too short but some cool ideas.)
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Life, the Universe and Everything (Anything that makes you cry from laughter more than a couple times gets 5 stars!)
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So long, and Thanks for All
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the Fish (4) (A dissapointment after _LU&E_. But still funny and zanny. Can't believe that Norman died.) Show Less
LibraryThing member TheBurningBookshelf
I thoroughly enjoyed each and everyone of these books form beginning to end. I read them the first time at the tender age of 17. I laughed at them then and I continue to laugh with them now. I have found that they truly stand the test of time. I have found new and different perceptions of each book
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each time I read them. The books or perhaps it is my new perceptions of the books have grown with me. They have been a great source of joy and comfort through the stages of my life. It seems that I get to see each book with a new/fresh perspective at each stage of my life that I have read the books at. I believe this relationship will continue and that is what makes these books so wonderful, in my opinion. FrogsDancing. Show Less
LibraryThing member meersan
Classic scifi farce follows last man alive Arthur Dent and his hoopy adventures in space.
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Pan-galactic Gargle Blasters.
Weird guy named Rooster.
Cats named The Lord.
Ornery machines that don’t understand Tea.
Vogon poetry.
Squirrels proffering bits of rag.
A pissed off entity tired of being forever killed.
Aliens with expensive soap.
SEP fields.
Cricket.
A guy who really, really likes a
Mice.
The Gnab Gib.
Important information on towels.
Cavemen who can’t play scrabble.
A guy who’s dead for tax purposes.
A robot with emotional problems.
Meet the Meat.
Eddys in the space-time continuum.
If you do not find this intriguing or hilarious, I’m afraid you’ll have to take a turn in the Total Perspective Vortex.
Weird guy named Rooster.
Cats named The Lord.
Ornery machines that don’t understand Tea.
Vogon poetry.
Squirrels proffering bits of rag.
A pissed off entity tired of being forever killed.
Aliens with expensive soap.
SEP fields.
Cricket.
A guy who really, really likes a
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bath.Mice.
The Gnab Gib.
Important information on towels.
Cavemen who can’t play scrabble.
A guy who’s dead for tax purposes.
A robot with emotional problems.
Meet the Meat.
Eddys in the space-time continuum.
If you do not find this intriguing or hilarious, I’m afraid you’ll have to take a turn in the Total Perspective Vortex.
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LibraryThing member gansadorf
The first book is by far the best, a near perfect comedic classic. The rest are still good, but reading this whole omnibus at once was almost too much of the same. Probably would have been better off spacing them out a bit.
LibraryThing member puckrobin
Although I tried to read the first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was too young for Brit humour (ok, except for Benny Hill, because let's face it, BH wasn't terribly intellectual), I was pleased to discover years later - in my teens, like many Adams' fans - that the Galaxy
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according to Douglas Adams is a hilarious and intriguing place to be. If you are able to take yourself and the world not at all seriously for hours at a time, if you understand that the meaning of life may be calculated but no one really needs the answer, and if you see the value in always having a towel close to hand, grab this mammoth compendium of (as per the cover) increasingly inaccurately titled Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member sturlington
Among my favorite books. These farcical science fiction novels always make me laugh.
Read as a teen (late 1980s).
Read as a teen (late 1980s).
LibraryThing member vipulmathur
Simply the most hilarious sci-fi drama ever written!
LibraryThing member BethanyMoore
I love all things hitchhiker's....
This is five books in one, and they're all flippin hilarious!
The most important things you'll learn from this book: 1. When travelling the universe, always bring a towel. 2. The answer to absolutely everything is 42. 3. Never name yourself after a car.
This is five books in one, and they're all flippin hilarious!
The most important things you'll learn from this book: 1. When travelling the universe, always bring a towel. 2. The answer to absolutely everything is 42. 3. Never name yourself after a car.
LibraryThing member hhornblower
It's been about 15 years since I last read this series, and while you may remember many of the jokes, it is still a great set of books. It should be required reading. Now to re-read the equally great Dirk Gently series.
LibraryThing member kurdziel
I'm a hitchhikers junkie--after awhile Douglas Adams does become a little repetetive; however, while not quite "Literature for the Ages" Hitchhikers is definitely an icon of the 1980-90s--I must read if you don't now what the answer to life the universe and everything is. Quite read quite humorous
This hardcover contains all the Hitchhikers Series, but you'll still need to read the "Radio Transcripts" from the original radio show--far better than the movie, which I don't recommend.
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and far too lifelike-- in a recent article I read on AI (artificial intelligence) it was proposed that a true test of robotics gaining consciousness would be if they could become depressed.This hardcover contains all the Hitchhikers Series, but you'll still need to read the "Radio Transcripts" from the original radio show--far better than the movie, which I don't recommend.
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LibraryThing member elle-kay
I have read and re-read the series in its entirely several times and I still can't get enough of it. Each time I read it, I seem to find more dialouge and jokes that I didn't catch the previous times around. A total classic =)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
Physical description
624 p.; 9.25 inches
ISBN
0517693119 / 9780517693117