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Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams

nick webb

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It all started when Douglas Adams demolished planet Earth in order to make way for an intergalactic expressway–and then invited everyone to thumb a ride on a comical cosmic road trip with the likes of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and the other daft denizens of deep space immortalized in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams made the universe a much funnier place to inhabit and forever changed the way we think about towels, extraterrestrial poetry, and especially the number 42. And then, too soon, he was gone.

Just who was this impossibly tall Englishman who wedded science fiction and absurdist humor to create the multimillion-selling five-book “trilogy” that became a cult phenomenon read round the world? Even if you’ve dined in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, you’ve been exposed to only a portion of the offbeat, endearing, and irresistible Adams mystique. Have you met the only official unofficial member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus? The very first person to purchase a Macintosh computer? The first (and thus far only) author to play a guitar solo onstage with Pink Floyd? Adams was also the writer so notorious for missing deadlines that he had to be held captive in a hotel room under the watchful eye of his editor; the creator of the epic computer game Starship Titanic; and a globetrotting wildlife crusader.

A longtime friend of the author, Nick Webb reveals many quirks and contradictions: Adams as the high-tech-gadget junkie and lavish gift giver . . .irrepressible ham and painfully timid soul . . . gregarious conversationalist and brooding depressive . . . brilliant intellect and prickly egotist. Into the brief span of forty-nine years, Douglas Adams exuberantly crammed more lives than the most resilient cat–while still finding time and energy to pursue whatever side projects captivated his ever-inquisitive mind.

By turns touching, tongue-in-cheek, and not at all timid about telling the warts-and-all truth, Wish You Were Here is summation as celebration– a look back at a life well worth the vicarious reliving, and studded with anecdote, droll comic incident, and heartfelt insight as its subject’s own unforgettable tales of cosmic wanderlust. For the countless fans of Douglas Adams and his unique and winsome world, here is a wonderful postcard: to be read, reread, and treasured for the memories it bears.


From the Hardcover edition.

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 6,2003

This edition

Format
368 pages, Paperback
Published
December 27, 2005 by Del Rey
ISBN
9780345476517
ASIN
0345476514
Language
English

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nick webb

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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 70 votes)
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
_Lazaroth_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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I read the Hitchhiker books long ago, but was not aware of this book until it popped up on BookBub and I downloaded for free. I found it to be almost a hagiography of Douglas and all I could think of was that if there wasn't a Douglas Adams, someone would have invented him. I understand what he brought to the world of sci-fi that was not there before, but he was certainly not alone!

Yes I think the Hitchiker books were fun, brilliant even, and I enjoyed Dirk Gently. With this book, after a while, if you were not totally tuned into to all things DNA, well....I was really hoping to get an understanding of how Adams thought, worked, produced..and what I seemed to get was Nick Webb's awe standing in the way. It was so obfuscated with Roget-type words I thought Mr. Webb had taken stock in a word company and had a certain amount to use or his contract would be null and void.

A bit to rambling, insufferably British and overwrought for my taste. Just me!
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iHyrule
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Well, that was an exhausting, I mean exhaustive, biography. The writing was fine, there was just so much detail, which I'm sure is great for reference books but less for casual purposes. I'm mostly glad I read it just to get a list of what other media I should put on my to-read/to-watch lists (which I probably also could have gotten from a wikipedia list). If you're a mega-fan and want to know, this will sate your appetite. If you picked it up on a whim, like I did, put it back and go read your favorite novels by Adams again.
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KalowellElendor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Fantastic! It takes a little while to get going through some slightly dull plodding about at the start discussing Douglas Adams' family, but it really hits its stride once the great author gets into the picture. Very intelligent and often funny (maybe a bit too much America-bashing from author Webb, ironic as Douglas loved America), this book is straightforward for about half the pages and then goes off the rails in different directions about Adams' life. Appropriate, though, given how full of ideas and enthusiastic Adams was about everything. I really enjoyed it, recommended for Adams fans especially.
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dubbernaught
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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This was a very comprehensive book, and very entertaining to read. It made me like Douglas Adams all the more, and really makes me want to go back and reread everything he's written! It took me an unusually long time to read for some reason (not a quick read), but I enjoyed every minute of it.
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Mirwim
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide completely changed how I look at the world and is without a doubt my favourite book of all time , so I have always found DNA (Douglas Adam’s initials) fascinating and this book is written by the person that commissioned his first book , not only did he have the vision to see the potential in an obscure radio play but he got to know and understand the man behind the books , I feel I know and understand the brilliance and flaws of this truly exceptional man.
Thank you Nick Well for showing DNA as the man he was, I feel I know his personally after reading this book, just annoyed I never got to go to one of his house parties.
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chophiechan
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Although I enjoyed this book, I think it was because of Douglas Adams rather than Nick Webb’s writing. Although he does a reasonable job of DNA’s story, he both puts too much detail in parts and not nearly enough in others. Also he keeps quoting Neil Gaiman’s book about Douglas- which I ended up wishing I’d read instead of this one.
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legitsu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Lots of great stories about and insights into, Douglas Adams. Wasn't a fan of this authors writing however. He got bogged down in many spots with detail that slowed the pace down a bit but still a great read for any fans of Adams.
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