The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I once believed I was an alien life form, albeit I was in third grade at the time, and thus subject to the ramifications of peer pressure, which sometimes contradicts common sense. Having watched enough cartoons, along with enough animated movies and not so animated ones, I even resorted to the beep-beep noise used by The Road Runner and unintelligent Martians. It was not one of my prouder moments, but looking back on it now, probably showed my ability to suspend disbelief, and helped sprout the seeds of my imagination. Since then, I've developed the spine of a porcupine, I can spit nails, and I have the hard exterior shell of a Plexiglas spacecraft, so I guess the cycle is complete and all is right with the cosmos.But there are definite glitches in our universe, as evidenced in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. First, we have the demolishment of the Earth for a galactic freeway or hyperspace bypass. We find out our intelligence level has been exceeded by mice and dolphins, and that dolphins tried to warn us multiple times of our impending doom, but gave up when their form of communication was not acknowledged and accepted our offerings of fish instead. Ford Prefect is alive and well, is not to be confused with the failed Ford model, and in multiple cases, his intelligence exceeds that of the protagonist, Arthur Dent. The plot becomes a bit discombobulated and farfetched at times and sometimes powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive, but that only adds to the wackiness and pleasure of the overall experience.Even towels are magically transformed to "the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." And you just might need one to stifle your laughter, grins, and outright guffaws at some of the hilarious discussions presented in this fun, quirky read. Where, in the end, "I came for a week and got stuck for fifteen years.""Resistance is useless!" So you should just sit back and enjoy yourself, albeit from another planet like Mars or Pluto, and where the future is not mired by a hyperspace bypass. Of course, there's always the possibility that introverts may rule this particular universe, and this brings me to one of my favorite lines of this tale: "If they don't keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working." So, in that regard, I will continue to exercise my brain through the absence of moving my lips, except when I have something intelligent, relevant, or interesting to say, or when I occasionally forget that my mouth is moving.If you have a wickedly morbid, sarcastic sense of humor, this book is definitely for you. Since I laugh so often I sometimes don't even know why I'm laughing, I rather enjoyed this read. And you can too, for the measly sum of less than thirty Altairian dollars a day. "So long and thanks for all the fish."Robert DownsAuthor of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator

“But the story of this terrible, stupid Thursday, the story of its extraordinary consequences, and the story of how these consequences are inextricably intertwined with this remarkable book begins very simply. It begins with a house.” The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is the first in it’s series, also made into a movie. The sheer weirdness of this book is unexplainable for one to understand without reading it. It plays with the kind of humor where everything is so random that your mind feels it is comical. Also, this book is truly not the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy itself, but rather, as it explains in the exposition, a book about the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and those who are using it.The story, at first, seems normal as a narrator tells us about a man getting his house knocked down. The reality slowly fades, as random names and phrases that the narrator uses are seeming very un-Earth like. It is present day, or around this time, and first set in London, England. Soon after, the setting turns into a fantasy, yet not impossible, world of aliens around our galaxy that we never knew. It jumps into this turn fairly quickly, and persuades you to keep reading with the constant action and suspense. Then, there are the characters. “The thing that used to worry him most was the fact that people always used to ask him what he was looking so worried about.” Our main character; Arthur Dent. Arthur is the one real character in the story that can be related to or understood by us, the human people of Earth. A stubborn, normal, fed up human that is always confused or questioning things in all the madness of the plot. Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin-all know what is going on in this crazy world since they are a part of it. A women named Trilian brings a mother character to the book, being human aswell but always caring and responsible during the adventure. These main characters are the protagonists, and the entirety of their journey is the antagonist. They all seem to be in search for something, but each character doesn’t really understand what it is or how to find it.In the beginning, all Arthur cares about is his house. Shortly after, his house and everything around it aren’t his biggest problem. His home planet of Earth went through a dramatic change, from full of life to non-existent. His best pal Ford, who was secretly not from Earth himself, decided to rescue Arthur from his death. This spirals to extreme coincidences and near death-experiences as they hitchhike their way through space. They later get picked up by the president of the Universe, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and his two helpers Trillian and Marvin. They are now searching for the legendary planet of Magrathea, which was told to have been creating planets as luxury items. The ship searches, and discovers, the hidden planet, but finding the true treasures are harder than they appear. The randomness of their adventures and the narrations throughout the novel show a genius way of connecting these facts and instances into one story that captivates the reader. The erratic events somehow create a normality. It brings the reader into the story, teaches and explains all the events and ideas, and gives flashbacks so all the facts come together into one plot. While reading this, every chapter has something that would make me laugh or force me to press forward in the book. Adams achieved his goal, finally bringing us a children’s book for adults. When explaining this to someone, it sounds like you are reading a kindergarten’s story. But when actually reading it, the elements of description and hidden pieces of the story somehow make the overall book feel more mature and more deep. I loved the sudden and random way he would explain, almost over explain, all the details in the story. Though you could say he was droning on and on, the way he does this helps the story seem more clear through the insanity. I enjoyed the comical way that Adams used to describe who people are without even the character itself knowing about it. Mr. Prosser, the man trying to knock down Arthur’s house, was shown to us as this; “Curiously enough, though he didn’t know it, he was also a direct male-line descendant of Genghis Khan..” The story later tells that the stubby male called Mr. Prosser gets very vivid, but violent, war scenes in his memory every now and then. Adams later uses this to explain Mr. Prosser’s thoughts and feeling about what he does or how he lives. Interesting ways that Adams shows his characters are far from normal, but far from normal is perfect for me and I appreciated it immensely. My favorite thing about the characters was having Arthur as the main focus. Arthur is the rock, the glue, the sanity of the entire story. I related to him myself, and he keeps you in focus during the book. Though I was thrilled with these parts of the book, sadly not every story is perfect. Compared to the roaring events of the rest of the story, the ending just didn’t meet my expectations. There just wasn’t enough action in it like the rest of the story, but I could see how a tranquil ending would wrap up all the crazy events in the book.Adams has a very unique style, and it would seem to work with young adults who find themselves not usually enjoying reading books. It has that childish setting and overall feel, but with mature ways of writing. A younger child may enjoy the fun setting but have trouble sticking to the plot, so a more young adult would suit it better. The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy is a comical, interesting book that would be great for anyone who likes science fiction or fantasies.

Utterly brilliant. A reason it’s a classic A total delight to devour and will while away the hours before you know it.

Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" masterfully blends science fiction, comedy, and philosophy. The story follows Arthur Dent, who is abruptly whisked away from Earth just before its demolition for a hyperspace bypass. His journey begins with Ford Prefect, an alien revising "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," who rescues him. Together, they hitch a ride on a Vogon spaceship, embarking on a series of bizarre and humorous adventures. Along the way, they meet eccentric characters like Zaphod Beeblebrox, the erratic two-headed President of the Galaxy, and Marvin, a perpetually depressed robot.The book’s strength lies in its blend of humor and philosophical depth. Its narrative, filled with surreal humor and zany adventures, encourages readers to ponder life's deeper questions lightly. The story suggests that the search for definitive answers is less crucial than enjoying the journey itself, promoting a light-hearted embrace of life's uncertainties.

Good book my 13 year old liked it

This book is not for everyone. Try the Kindle teaser though. If you like the teaser, you will almost certainly enjoy the book.The book itself defies description, but an earthling and three aliens escape earth just before it is destroyed and proceed on a fast paced tour of the galaxy where they encounter other aliens trying to decipher the meaning of life. It’s wacky, sometimes its stupid yet overall it’s very clever. Above all, its fast paced and very engaging for some strange reason.

This is sillier than a Vonnegut novel and one of the most entertaining books I read in a while. It can easily be read in one sitting and a great way to spend a lazy afternoon

One of my favourite books of all time. So funny! And the movie (with Mos Def!) is also pretty good!

Sem dúvida nenhuma é um ícone geek. Achei o livro bastante interessante e original. Para os leitores não muito hábeis com o inglês pode ser bem difícil de ler pois, não há uma estória contínua para ajudar no entendimento dos termos. Tem algumas tiradas engraçadas, mas não leia esperando morrer de rir. Mas em resumo aconselho a leitura por ser um clássico.

This is a book from my childhood (mid-1960's child).I loved it at the time, and appreciate it just as much now in digital format.Totally worth a read, along with the sequels.Thanks, Douglas!

This book is hilarious, I had to LOL three times on page one.

Somehow always hesitant to read the book as I’d seen a few clips from the gawd awful film they made. A good friend of mine highly recommended the read and I’m eternally grateful. Thanks Llewelyn.