Arthur Dent is having a bad day. His house is torn down to make room for a highway, his friend, Ford Prefect, turns out to be an alien, and the Earth has just been destroyed by Vogons to make way for an interplanetary highway. With Ford, Arthur hitchhikes around the universe with only a guidebook and a towel.

What is the meaing of life, the universe, and everything? 42, of course.

First in a "trilogy" consisting of five books. Adams' worldview is actually very dark. He did not have an optimistic opinion of human nature. However, the books are so silly that you don't realize how depressing they aactually are until you get all the way to the end.

I love, love, love this book. ( )

Let me preface this review by explaining a few things. The Hitchhikers Guide trilogy (though there are five books - go figure) is one of the hubby's all time favorites. He doesn't read much fiction but will reread this series every few months and even went as Arthur Dent for Halloween a few years ago. I've never read them *gasp* but I've seen the movie - which I liked but always end up falling asleep during the last bit. He's always saying I should read them, and last week, he finally got his way. Last week being our 30 hour cross-country drive from Ohio to Utah where he persuaded me to listen to the audio book. I've decided the audio version is the only way to read this series. If you've seen the movie, the narrator also reads the books in a wonderful British accent.Here's the plot in a nutshell: Arthur Dent, human, thinks he has encountered the worst day of his life: his house is about to be destroyed to make way for a bypass. What he doesn't realize is that 1. his best friend, Ford Prefect, is actually an alien masquerading as an out of work actor and 2. Earth is about to be destroyed by a Vogon ship trying to clear a path for an intergalactic expressway. Ironic isn't it? Ford however knows of the impending destruction and helps Arthur 'hitch' a ride on this Vogon ship. What follows are their adventures encountering intergalactic presidents who steal expensive spaceships, depressed robots, and centuries old world-builders all in search of the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.Douglas Adam is witty in that unfailingly deadpan British way. He is also one of the most unusually creative writers I've ever come across. Not only are his characters unusual and competely real (even if they are robots) but some of the cosmic situations he describes are down right hilarious. Occasionally, he would begin to wax poetic about some scientific topic or other and I'd sort of zone out until I caught the hubby chuckling and then demand we rewind it until I got the joke too. Over all, it was decidedly different and inventive - I just might start celebrating towel day myself... ( )

One wild sci-fi drug trip. This book was hilarious in so many ways, from the one-liners, the puns, and just plain lunacy. This is a must read for all sci-fi fans and geeks alike. This ridiculous novel is an inspiration.
Read this novel and you just might discover the answer to life, the universe, and everything. ( )

This humorous tale begins in England within Earth’s last hour. Ford Prefect, an alien working on revising The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for an updated second edition, has been stranded on Earth for the past 15 years and is the only one aware of the planet’s imminent demise. Through his knowledge of the universe, Ford is able to hitchhike a lift off Earth just moments before its end and takes his human friend, Arthur Dent, along for the ride. Various improbable events and near-death experiences occur as the two begin a wild adventure through space. This first book in the series is a very funny, light, and quick read, and I am looking forward to re-meeting all its interesting characters (Marvin the paranoid android, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Trillion, as well as Ford and Arthur) in the next title. ( )

The best five volume trilogy ever written. ( )