Edit 26-9-2011: Corrected some stupid typo’s 😉
… It is also the story of a book, a book called “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” – not an Earth book, never published on Earth. and until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or even heard of by any Earthman.
Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book.
In fact, it was probably the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor – of which no Earthman had ever heard either.
Not only is it wholly remarkable book, it is also a highly successful one – more popular than the “Celestial Home Care Omnibus”, better selling than “Fifty-three More Things to do in Zero Gravity”, and more controversial than Oolem Coluphid’s trilogy of philosophical blockbusters “Where Went God Wrong”, “Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes” and “Who Is This God Person Anyway?”.
In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker’s Guide has already supplanted the great “Encyclopedia Galactica” as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.
First, it is slightly cheaper; and second, it has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover…
I know for sure that a lot of people will recognize this text. This because it is the first part of the very famous book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. A book that is filled with untraceable word-tricks and humour that will make one laugh all the time…
And of course, I have read this book already. It is many years ago that I bought it and read it more then once. And I also have read the follow-up on that book “The Restaurant at the end of the Universe”.
But Douglas Adams has written more stories in this series… “Life, the Universe and Everything”… “So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish”… “Mostly Harmless”…
Last week I was wandering with a colleague through the town of Hoofddorp (where I work) and in a book-store I saw this book called “The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. It contains all the stories mentioned above and as bonus the story “Young Zaphod Plays It Safe” is added.
As you may have guessed already, I bought the book. With pleasure I will reread the two stories I already know and looking forwards to the stories I haven’t read yet.
Nice reading times ahead 🙂
I foresee long evenings on the couch with cognac while reading some good books…. Wonderful!
Nice. One of the best trilogy in 5 parts i ever read.
Restaurant at the end of the Universe…. Meet the Meat 😀
42…. Don’t Panic. Always take a towel. And the improbability drive…….
The Police space ship that commits suiciede be course Marvin Talkes to is. Flartbartifast…. Oh i just stop smiling thinking of these books.
I mean i cant stop smiling ;P