The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams

Apr 2005 · Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 1 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Stephen Fry

About this audiobook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Extremely funny . . . inspired lunacy . . . [and] over much too soon.”—The Washington Post Book World

SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES • Now celebrating the pivotal 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!

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. . . .

Ratings and reviews

A wonderful classic piece of sci-fi with a truckload of British flair and the unique talents of Stephen Fry. The book is fun and features a lot of surreal seeming moments that truly makes you feel you are Arthur Dent exploring this alien universe. It is a wonderful mix of explorative character/world building and psuedo philosophic thought, with both the story and Mr. Fry ranging from dry and factual to hammy and over the top constantly. In the end keep track of your towel and don't panic....

So I have to admit that I think the audiobook is cheating with this book, but it was a great "listen." A dear friend of mine gave me this book for my 42nd birthday and I've tried to read it multiple times and not finished it. I had a very long drive and this was a great way to get through the book. The narrator is absolutely fabulous with his voices and I truly laughed out loud multiple times. Totally English humor and for "monty pythonesque" lovers. A good listen, And a good way to honor my friends effort. :)

This is one of my all time favorite books. It's creative and clever and funny. I was excited to revisit the story, especially read by Stephen Fry, but I was a little let down by the narration. Character voices weren't easily discernable and a lot of speech happens in a relatively high register, which sounded like whining to me. And the pace was a little too fast. For a book with this density of techno-babble, it helps if the reader slows down sometimes to let all of the new ideas and names sink in and register in your brain. I had to really pay attention to keep up.

About the author

Douglas Adams died in May 2001 at the age of 49. He was the author of five books in the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, including 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. His other works include Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency; The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul; The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff (with John Lloyd); and Last Chance to See (with Mark Carwardine). His last book was the bestselling collection, The Salmon of Doubt, published posthumously in May 2002.