Douglas Adams was an English author and humorist, celebrated for his unique blend of science fiction and comedy. His works are characterized by their absurdist wit, sharp social commentary, and imaginative explorations of the universe. Adams masterfully used humor to delve into profound questions about life, the universe, and everything, creating a distinctive literary voice. His innovative storytelling across various mediums cemented his legacy as a singular talent in modern literature.
Contains the unabridged texts of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," "Life, the Universe, and Everything," "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish," and "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe"
The Doctor takes Romana for a holiday in Paris âe" a city which, like a fine wine, has a bouquet all its own. Especially if you visit during one of the vintage years. But the TARDIS takes them to 1979, a table-wine year, a year whose vintage is soured by cracks âe" not in their wine glasses but in the very fabric of time itself. Soon the Time Lords are embroiled in an audacious alien scheme which encompasses home-made time machines, the theft of the Mona Lisa, the resurrection of the much-feared Jagaroth race, and the beginning (and quite possibly the end) of all life on Earth. Aided by British private detective Duggan, whose speciality is thumping people, the Doctor and Romana must thwart the machinations of the suave, mysterious Count Scarlioni âe" all twelve of him âe" if the human race has any chance of survival. But then, the Doctorâe(tm)s holidays tend to turn out a bit like this. Featuring the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker, City of Death is a novel by James Goss based on the 1979 Doctor Who story written by Douglas Adams under the pen-name David Agnew. City of Death is one of the best-loved serials in the showâe(tm)s 50-year history and was watched by over 16 million viewers when first broadcast.
'The history of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is now so complicated that every time I tell it I contradict myself, and whenever I do get it right I'm misquoted. So, the publication of this omnibus edition seemed like a good opportunity to set the record straight -- or at least firmly cooked.' First a legendary radio series, then a bestselling paperback, the highly successful Hit Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy needs no introduction. the Omnibus edition is reissued to coincide with the publication of the fifth part of the trilogy, Mostly Harmless, along with A Guide to the Guide and essential notes on How to Leave the Planet. This single hardback edition is indispensable for any would-be galactic traveler, and for Douglas Adams fans everywhere. --front flap
In one complete volume, discover the five classic novels from Douglas Adams’s beloved series, celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!
In the first novel, just before Earth is destroyed for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide, and they embark on a wild journey through time and space. The second installment finds Arthur and his companions in a peculiar predicament, searching for a place to eat just before facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers.
In the third book, the inhabitants of Krikkit plan to destroy the universe, and only Arthur and his crew can prevent Armageddon. The fourth novel sees Arthur back on Earth, grappling with the reality of his past experiences as a gift-wrapped fishbowl brings him back to life.
Finally, in the fifth book, just as Arthur begins to enjoy life, chaos ensues, and he must confront the potential obliteration of Earth, a hostile alien takeover of the Guide, and his daughter's struggles. This volume also includes the bonus story “Young Zaphod Plays It Safe.”
With droll wit and sharp satire, Adams's work continues to resonate, making readers laugh until they cry.
'Douglas Adams' genius was in using comedy to make serious points about the world' Independent After years of reflecting on the absurdities of life on other planets, Douglas Adams teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine to find out what was happening to life on this one. Together they lead us on an unforgettable journey across the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures - animals that they may never get another chance to see. They encounter the animal kingdom in its stunning beauty, astonishing variety, and imminent peril: the giant Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the helpless but lovable Kakapo of New Zealand, the blind river dolphins of China, the white rhinos of Zaire, the rare birds of Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean. Both funny and poignant, Last Chance to See is the tale of an unforgettable wildlife odyssey - and a timely reminder of all that we must protect.
The hugely powerful Key to Time has been split into six segments, all of which have been disguised and hidden throughout time and space. Now the even more powerful White Guardian wants the Doctor to find the pieces. With the first segment successfully retrieved, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 trace the second segment of the Key to the planet Calufrax. But when they arrive at exactly the right point in space, they find themselves on exactly the wrong planet – Zanak. Ruled by the mysterious ‘Captain’, Zanak is a happy and prosperous planet. Mostly. If the mines run out of valuable minerals and gems then the Captain merely announces a New Golden Age and they fill up again. It’s an economic miracle – so obviously something’s very wrong...
A special 42nd anniversary edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Original Radio Scripts by Douglas Adams with an introduction from Simon Jones.
This beautifully illustrated edition of the New York Times bestselling classic celebrates the 42nd anniversary of the original publication—with all-new art by award-winning illustrator Chris Riddell. SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES • “An astonishing comic writer.”—Neil Gaiman Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent . . . until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. After that, things get much, much worse. With just a towel, a small yellow fish, and a book, Arthur has to navigate through a very hostile universe in the company of a gang of unreliable aliens. Luckily the fish is quite good at languages. And the book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . which helpfully has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover. Douglas Adams’s mega-selling pop-culture classic sends logic into orbit, plays havoc with both time and physics, offers up pithy commentary on such things as ballpoint pens, potted plants, and digital watches . . . and, most important, reveals the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. Now, if you could only figure out the question. . . .
Douglas Adams' mega-selling cult classic: now in one handy boxset that contains the complete The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in five parts, charting the whole of Arthur Dent's odyssey through space and time.
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! “Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”—Chicago Tribune The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation. They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox. How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal” Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it! “Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”—Arizona Daily Star
One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that moring, this seems already to be more that he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun, and the galaxy is a very strange and startling place. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is now a major motion picture from Touchstone Pictures, starring Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Mos Def as Ford Prefect, Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent and Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast. John Malkovich and Anna Chancellor play new characters developed especially for the film by Adams himself. This film tie-in edition of Douglas Adams perennially popular novel includes an Afterword by Robbie Stamp, Executive Producer on the movie and a close friend of Douglas Adams. He explains how after twenty-five years the film finally came to be made, and describes how the cast and crew were assembled. Also included are exclusive star interviews, as well as movie stills and on-set photography from filming. This combination of Douglas Adams' classic novel with behind-the-sences information is for all those who have been brought to Hitchhiker's by the brilliant film adaptation - as well as for those who have loved it in its radio, novel and television incarnations. --back cover
The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey is one of the Artefacts, dating from the dark days of Rassilon. It wields enormous power, and it must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Skagra, who believes he should be God and permits himself only two smiles per day, most definitely has the wrong hands.
Just when Arthur Dent`s sense of reality is at its most clouded, he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. He finds her in the last place in the Universe in which he would expect to find anything at all, but which 3,976,000,000 people will find oddly familiar. They go in search of God`s Final Message to His Creation and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it. VOLUME FOUR IN THE TRILOGY OF FIVE
Sequel to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. A passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport goes up in a ball of flame and Dirk Gently becomes very inquisitive.
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! “Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.”—The Washington Post Book World Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat, as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability. Among Arthur’s motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who’s gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally). Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that The Hitchhiker’s Guide deleted the term “Future Perfect” from its pages, since it was discovered not to be! “What’s such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams’s sardonically silly eyes.”—Detroit Free Press
It`s easy to become disheartened when your planet has been demolished for an unnecessary hyperspacial express route, the woman you love has vanished in a misunderstanding about the nature of space/time, the spaceship in which you are travelling crashed in flames on a remote and Bob-fearing planet, and all you have to fall back on are a few sandwich-making skills. However, instead of becoming disheartened, Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life a bit and immediately all hell breaks loose.
Das Wörterbuch, auf das Sie schon immer gewartet haben! Dieses klassische Nachschlagewerk hilft stets zuverlässig aus jedem verbalen Engpass und so mancher Lebenskrise. Vom Autor der Kultserie „Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis“.
From the unfathomable imagination of Douglas Adams, this is his internationally bestselling final book: a zany collection of essays, articles, anecdotes, and stories.
In life and, indeed, in liff, there are many hundreds of common experiences, feelings, situations and even objects which we all know and recognize, but for which no words exist. This text uses place names to describe some of these meanings.
A mixture of science fiction, horror and mystery, with a dash of romance. Detective Dirk Gently searches for a missing cat on a trip that takes him through space and time.
Rediscover the lost Doctor Who adventure by Douglas Adams.Intergalactic war? That’s just not cricket … or is it?The Doctor promised Romana the end of the universe, so she’s less than impressed when what she gets is a cricket match. But then the award ceremony is interrupted by eleven figures in white uniforms and peaked skull helmets, wielding bat-shaped weapons that fire lethal bolts of light into the screaming crowd. The Krikkitmen are back.Millions of years ago, the people of Krikkit learned they were not alone in the universe, and promptly launched a xenophobic crusade to wipe out all other life-forms. After a long and bloody conflict, the Time Lords imprisoned Krikkit within an envelope of Slow Time, a prison that could only be opened with the Wicket Gate key, a device that resembles – to human eyes, at least – an oversized set of cricket stumps…From Earth to Gallifrey, from Bethselamin to Devalin, from Krikkit to Mareeve II to the far edge of infinity, the Doctor and Romana are tugged into a pan-galactic conga with fate as they rush to stop the Krikkitmen gaining all five pieces of the key. If they fail, the entire cosmos faces a fiery retribution that will leave nothing but ashes…
Over 60 boxes full of notebooks, research, letters, scripts, jokes, speeches, to-do lists, hard drives and even poems...Welcome to the incredible archive of Douglas Adams. After his death in 2001, Douglas Adams's papers were loaned to his old Cambridge college, St John's. Reproduced here, in facsimile form and in close association with Adams's family and literary estate, 42 is a full-colour, large-format hardback that follows Adams career from early collaborations with Graham Chapman to his work on Doctor Who, through the Hitchhiker years*, Dirk Gently*, his groundbreaking non-fiction book Last Chance to See and his later digital work. Alongside this are details of projects that never came to fruition like a proposed theme park ride and a TV series provisionally entitled The Secret Empire. Edited by Kevin Jon Davies, who has worked on a number of Hitchhiker-related projects and had a personal friendship with Adams spanning more than twenty years.
The complete collection for all admirers of Arthur Dent and the alien Ford Prefect. Volumes 1-5 include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, and Mostly Harmless.
This outrageous volume contains six zany, out-of-this-world adventure stories by this incomparable novelist. From the very first to the very latest—all best sellers—includes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish; Young Zaphod Plays it Safe; and Mostly Harmless
Oltre 700 episodi, 33 anni di programmazione: "Doctor Who" è la serie televisiva dei record, la più longeva saga fantascientifica di sempre. In queste pagine, Douglas Adams ci regala un'avventura inedita, mai portata sullo schermo né tradotta in italiano. Il Signore del Tempo professor Chronotis, vecchio amico del Dottore, si è ritirato all'università di Cambridge, dove nessuno si accorgerà mai che egli vive da secoli. Ma adesso ha bisogno dell'aiuto del Dottore, della sua giovane assistente Romana e di K-9, il suo fedele computer a forma di cane. Lasciando Gallifrey, il pianeta d'origine della potente specie dei Signori del Tempo, infatti, ha portato con sé alcuni souvenir, per lo più innocui. Ma ce n'è uno molto, molto pericoloso, L'antico e venerabile codice di Gallifrey, uno dei Potenti Artefatti, risalenti ai giorni oscuri di Rassilon: un libro che assolutamente non deve cadere nelle mani sbagliate. E quelle del sinistro Skagra sono le più sbagliate che si possano immaginare. Perché lui vuole quel libro a tutti i costi. Vuole che il professore gli sveli la verità nascosta dietro Shada, il misterioso pianeta-prigione dove vengono rinchiusi i criminali che tentano di conquistate l'universo. E si dà il caso che la conquista dell'universo è proprio il progetto di vita cui Skagra ha deciso di dedicarsi...
«Путівник по Галактиці для космотуристів» – фантастично-унікальна книжка про пригоди вельми веселої компанії оригінальних персонажів, серед яких є двоє аборигенів з планети Земля. Своїми карколомними пригодами та дотепними діалогами вони не дадуть вам розслабитись ані на сторінку. Рекомендуємо прочитати мислячим істотам, котрі шукають у своєму житті хоч якийсь сенс. Бо в книзі містяться всі відповіді на питання, що ж таке Життя, Всесвіт, ну і все таке інше. Роман увійшов до списку «200 найкращих книг за версією ВВС (Бі-Бі-Сі)». Та й у списку «100 найкращих книг» також є! Саме час долучитись до міжпланетної культури та витонченого англійського гумору.
Arthur Dent, einziger Überlebender des gesprengten Planeten Erde, hat sich auf seiner abenteuerlichen Fahrt durch den Weltraum eine Pause verdient. Gemeinsam mit seinen Freunden Ford Prefect, Trillian, Marvin und Zaphod Beeblebrox steuert er Milliways an, das Restaurant am sprichwörtlichen Ende des Universums. Doch von Erholung keine Spur. Zum Abendessen nehmen Arthur und Co an einer Reality Show teil, und dann treffen sie auch noch Desaster Area, die lauteste Rockband des Universums. --back cover Band 2 der fünfteiligen Trilogie.
Es beginnt damit, dass der Engländer Arthur Dent sein Haus räumen muss, denn die Erde soll gesprengt werden, um einer Hyperraum-Umgehungsstrasse Platz zu machen. Was folgt ist die unglaublichste Odyssee in der Geschichte des Weltalls. In diesem Band finden sich die ersten beiden Abenteuer von Arthur Dent.(Quelle: Inhaltstext).
At the centre of the galaxy, an unknown civilization is preparing for an event of epic proportions, the launch of the most technologically advanced spaceship ever built - the Starship Titanic. The ship that cannot possibly go wrong.
Op een donderdag tegen lunchtijd wordt de Aarde onverwacht gesloopt om plaats te maken voor een nieuwe hyperruimtesnelweg. Voor Hugo Veld, wiens huis die ochtend al gesloopt was, lijkt het meer dan hij aan kan. Maar helaas is het weekend nog maar net begonnen en blijkt de Melkweg een wel zeer bizarre en verbijsterende plek. Maar gelukkig is er een houvast als alle andere dingen falen: Het Transgalactisch Liftershandboek. Met als belangrijkste advies: GEEN PANIEK!
Als een incheck-balie op Terminal Twee van de luchthaven Heathrow in een baaierd van oranje vlammen door het dak vliegt, zijn het altijd de gebruikelijke mensen die de verantwoordelijheid opeisen. Om te beginnen de IRA, vervolgens de PLO. De Britse Raad voor de Kernenergie verklaarde dat de situatie volkomen onder controle was, dat er slechts een kans van één op een miljoen bestond dat er geen radioactieve stoffen ontsnapt waren en dat de plek waar de explosie had plaatsgevonden uitstekend geschikt was om er een dagje met de kinderen te picknicken. Er kon geen enkele zinnige verklaring voor de explosie worden gegeven - het was eenvoudigweg een daad van god genoemd. Maar, denkt Dirk Gently, welke God ? En waarom ? Welke God zou er rondhangen op Terminal Twee van de luchthaven Heathrow om er de vluvcht van 15.37 naar Oslo proberen te treffen ?
Comment garder tout son flegme quand on apprend dans la même journée : que sa maison va être abattue dans la minute pour laisser place à une déviation d'autoroute ; que la Terre va être détruite d'ici deux minutes, se trouvant, coïncidence malheureuse, sur le tracé d'une future voie express intergalactique ; que son meilleur ami, certes délicieusement décalé, est en fait un astrostoppeur natif de Bételgeuse, et s'apprête à vous entraîner aux confins de la galaxie ? Pas de panique ! Car Arthur Dent, un Anglais extraordinairement moyen, pourra compter sur le fabuleux Guide du voyageur galactique pour l'accompagner dans ses extraordinaires dérapages spatiaux moyennement contrôlés.
"And Another Thing ..." will be the sixth novel in the now improbably named "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy. Eight years after the death of its creator, Douglas Adams, the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval for the project to be continued by the international number one bestselling children's writer, Eoin Colfer, author of the "Artemis Fowl" novels. Douglas Adams himself once said, 'I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book. Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number.' Belson said of Eoin Colfer, 'I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new.' Colfer, a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays, said, 'Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world.' Prepare to be amazed...
Pětidílná stopařská trilogie, kterou autor původně koncipoval jako rozhlasovou hru pro stanici BBC. Tato bravurní parodie na sci-fi je dnes již klasické dílo. Komplikovaný a originální příběh začíná zničením Země, která musí udělat místo nové galaktické dálnici. Hlavní hrdina příběhu, docela obyčejný, ale sympatický pozemšťan jménem Arthur Dent, má to štěstí, že s pomocí svého přítele Forda Prefecta, údajně nezaměstnaného herce, z nehož se vyklube mimozemšťan, stopne kosmickou loď, a tak se mu podaří uniknout z místa katastrofy. Ilustrované vydání v boxu.