The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Summary: Your planet has just been destroyed and you re lost in the space-time continuum, but Don t Panic! Just thumb your way to the end of the universe for a nice cuppa tea with the help of The Ultimate Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy, your Baedeker for intergalactic zaniness. Featuring all five novels in Douglas Adams s beloved Hitchhiker’s series 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; Mostly Harmless and the bonus short story Young Zaphod Plays It Safe, this omnibus provides you with the perfect itinerary for sightseeing across the universe, from the beginning to the end of time. Along the way you’ll meet paranoid robots, avert Armageddon (more than once!), and learn the answer to the ultimate question concerning life, the universe, and everything even though you’ll never learn what the question is. So strap in, get ready for lift-off, and prepare yourself for comedy on a cosmic scale. The Ultimate Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy is one of Barnes & Noble s leather-bound contemporary classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world s greatest authors in exquisitely designed bonded-leather bindings with distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectable, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for any home library. Source: I purchased a hardcover.
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Review:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of those classics that I hear referenced all of the time and has been on my to-read list for quite some time. I snagged a nice leather-bound copy at the bookstore recently and was immediately sucked in by the story. I loved The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was fun, intelligent, hilarious, and entertaining. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally read it! I also thoroughly enjoyed The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
There was so much about the story that I absolutely loved. It was my type of humor and it made me laugh out loud often. It was so absurd, but it kind of made sense at the same time, so I couldn’t help but smile at all of the zany events. The depressing robot cracked me up. I loved how it was so intelligent and thoughtful and that’s part of what made it so absurd. It is THE novel for those who think about the universe seriously and often. It’s like that friend who keeps making you laugh when you really don’t want to. I loved it. I don’t think there is another novel that captures life in quite the same way. The events are beyond ridiculous, but there is a kernel of truth and humanity about the absurdity that makes it eye opening.
The only negative thing I can say about this collection is that it wasn’t a good idea to read the whole thing at once. The novels are most likely best enjoyed individually or in groups of two when the mood strikes. Attempting to move on from one to the next was daunting and it stopped being as funny or enjoyable near the end of Life, the Universe, and Everything. I don’t know if the first two novels are just better or if it just isn’t the sort of series that should be read altogether. By the middle of Mostly Harmless, I kind of just wanted it to be over and I hate that! It was funny, but the absurdity and the jumping around was starting to irritate me.
I do highly recommend The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I am glad I purchased the entire collection because that means I have it all. I thoroughly enjoyed The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, too, so I’m glad I got the collection because otherwise I would have only read book 1 and probably stopped there.
