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Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers…
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Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion (original 1988; edition 1988)

by Neil Gaiman

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2,254246,904 (3.79)43
Douglas Adams's "six-part trilogy," The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy grew from a blip of a notion into an ever-expanding multimedia universe that amassed an unprecedented cult of followers and became an international sensation. As a young journalist, Neil Gaiman was given complete access to Adams's life, times, gossip, unpublished outtakes, and files (and became privy to his writing process, insecurities, disillusionments, challenges, and triumphs). The resulting volume illuminates the unique, funny, dramatic, and improbable chronicle of an idea, an incredibly tall man, and a mind-boggling success story. In Don't Panic, Gaiman celebrates everything Hitchhiker: the original radio play, the books, comics, video and computer games, films, television series, record albums, stage musicals, one-man shows, the Great One himself, and towels. And as Douglas Adams himself attested: "It's all absolutely devastatingly true-except the bits that are lies." Updated several times in the thirty years since its original publication, Don't Panic is available for the first time in digital form.… (more)
Member:dementomstie
Title:Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion
Authors:Neil Gaiman
Info:Pocket (1988), Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

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Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion by Neil Gaiman (1988)

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» See also 43 mentions

English (22)  Italian (1)  All languages (23)
Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
This book is all about Douglas Adams creating HHGTTG, from the radio program to the books, TV shows, video games, movies, and more. I love the HHGTTG book and the most recent movie ... but haven't delved into much of the rest of the series.

It was interesting to read about the processes, history, and background of some of the incarnations of Adams' creation. So much I never knew about the series. Some I want to experience myself. Some I have no need to.

If you're a fan of the HHGTTG series in any way, this is a decent read. If you're not ... don't bother; there's a LOT of stuff you won't know, understand, or care about. ( )
  teejayhanton | Mar 22, 2024 |
I am a huge Hitchhiker's Guide fan, having been first introduced to it in my last year of high school (in 1981) by my grade 13 Chemistry teacher, Mr. Delamatter, one of the most influential teachers I had. He'd passed his copy to a buddy of mine in our little group, and it quickly made the rounds of all of us, before getting it back to our teacher.

Since then, I've read it, and all the sequels (yes, even the sixth one) multiple times.

So when I stumbled on this book accidentally in a used book shop...a Hitchhiker's Guide written by Neil Gaiman? Hell yes, I'm in.

And it was pretty much everything I'd hoped for, written in a similarly irreverent style to Adams, delivering quick hits of facts, and little dollops of humour along the way.

It really is a great little companion to the series. ( )
  TobinElliott | Jan 14, 2024 |
I'm not sure I learned anything really new, but Gaiman is always a pleasurable read.

This one may be for Hitchhiker's completists only. ( )
  HFCoffill | Apr 21, 2023 |
This compendium is for the most super of Douglas Adams superfans. Read my full review here. ( )
  joyblue | Nov 10, 2021 |
Over thirty years ago, a young journalist named Neil Gaiman (you may have heard of him since in other contexts) was given access to Douglas Adams, his life, his files, his unpublished outtakes, and many of his friends and coworkers, to write a highly entertaining account of the creation of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--the radio show, the six books of the "trilogy," the movie, the games. This is a fascinating look inside how Adams worked, and just how chaotic his creation process was at its best.

Because yes, all his most creative work was done in at atmosphere of chaos and looming deadlines.

And in a time when radio had already become largely a domain of music, news, and talk, he did his best work for radio, and drew in listeners as few if any other entertainment writers and creators could do for radio. This included, of course, not just Hitchhiker's Guide, but his wonderful nature program about endangered species, Last Chance to See.

This book is its own wild romp, while also giving due attention to Adams's struggles, depression, and frustrations. It's been updated several times since its origial publication, and access to Adams's files provides considerable insight into his working process. The unpublished outtakes and early versions also give us a view of how Hitchhiker's Guide developed, and the happy disregard for continuity and consistency that might have sunk many other creative works, but but gave life and vitality to the Guide in its many forms.

It's a wonderfully enjoyable and informative book, and I can't really do justice to it. Just read it, okay?

I bought this book. ( )
  LisCarey | Jul 26, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
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Because she's threatened me with consequences too dreadful even to begin to consider if I don't dedicate a book to her...
And because she's taken to starting every transatlantic conversation with "Have you dedicated a book to me yet?"...
I would like to dedicate this book to intelligent life forms everywhere.
And to my sister, Claire.
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The idea in question bubbled into Douglas Adams' mind quite spontaneously, in a field in Innsbruck.
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Douglas Adams's "six-part trilogy," The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy grew from a blip of a notion into an ever-expanding multimedia universe that amassed an unprecedented cult of followers and became an international sensation. As a young journalist, Neil Gaiman was given complete access to Adams's life, times, gossip, unpublished outtakes, and files (and became privy to his writing process, insecurities, disillusionments, challenges, and triumphs). The resulting volume illuminates the unique, funny, dramatic, and improbable chronicle of an idea, an incredibly tall man, and a mind-boggling success story. In Don't Panic, Gaiman celebrates everything Hitchhiker: the original radio play, the books, comics, video and computer games, films, television series, record albums, stage musicals, one-man shows, the Great One himself, and towels. And as Douglas Adams himself attested: "It's all absolutely devastatingly true-except the bits that are lies." Updated several times in the thirty years since its original publication, Don't Panic is available for the first time in digital form.

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