This posthumously published piece of Douglas Adams' canon is cobbled together from letters, emails, and unfinished writings. From a memoir piece about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro dressed as a rhino, to suggestions for improvements to technology, and a draft of the third Dirk Gently book. Salmon of Doubt is both sweet and sad.

Volume postumo, con interviste e commenti da parte di amici e colleghi, con alcuni capitoli di quello che sarebbe potuto diventare il sesto libro della trilogia della Guida Galattica o il terzo della serie di Dirk Gently.
Uno sguardo, divertito e divertente, nella vita e nelle opere di Douglas.

A collection of Adams writings, both fiction and nonfiction. It was interesting reading these at the same time as Green's essay collection, in that I found some similar flaws (I wonder if they are flaws in essay in general). Overall, I enjoyed some of them, especially the tragically unfinished Dirk Gently book. Others interested me less or disappointed me. Mostly glad I read it though.

Perhaps I should have researched the book before reading it but I assumed it was a continuation of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It is in fact a tedious collection of anecdotes, radio broadcasts, and magazine columns from Douglas Adams life with a partially written Dirk Gently novel at the end. But when the subtitle to the book is "Hitchhiking the galaxy one last time", what else is one supposed to think?

I liked Adam’s short stories & essays better than the actual detective plots of this series. That said, I really admire his ability to weave science, the universe, fiction & literature into vivid storylines.

It's really amazing the amounts of nostalgia that can build up in a person's system before it kinda explodes into a kind of reverse word soup full of interviews, introductions, epilogues, and snippets of novels we wish we had but they were never penned because the author up and died on us.

I'm writing of Douglas Adams, of course.

I almost didn't re-read this one because I remember it WAS mostly just magazine articles and interesting early computer-tech stuff and ruminations on science, god, and other random bits that fly out of this wonderful man's brain in tightly humorous one-liners that explain not only life, the universe, and everything, but also the way his mind works... and this is all DESPITE the fact that Mr. DNA may or may not have had a functional nose with which to sneeze out those humorous one-liners.

So am I rating this entirely based on a man's ability to be clear, funny, horribly learned, and dead?

Yes, but it's gotta be more than that, and indeed it is. I loved the man.

I grew up reading and re-reading HHGttG about a bazillion times with or without the cheese sandwhich, playing countless hours on the Infrogames title of the same name being simultaneously corrupted and flabbergasted by my inability to create NO TEA, and learning how to fly by distraction.

I even decided when I was fourteen that I'd grow a beard for the distinct purpose of giving some poor hapless creature a traveling burial site to not see the rest of the world through.

DNA is that kind of man to me.

This book reminds me of just how regular a human he is and it is an unabashedly wonderful nostalgia piece to boot.

Oh, and we also get a few short stories including Ghengis Kahn, a non-presidential Zaphod, and the opening to the next Dirk Gently book which would have been fantastic, I'm sure, had he written it.

*sigh*

Still, what a wonderful thing it is. Farewell, Mr. Adams. (Yes. I know I'm 16 years late. It's just that this book was compiled shortly after his death, so I feel it fresh. Sue me.)

Sarebbero 4.5 ⭐ come sempre questo libro ti fa riflettere e divertire, anche se con quella punta di amaro finale.
Penso sia una raccolta necessaria e che sia un'ottima, anche se triste, conclusione.

Did not realize that this was the incomplete book Adams was working on at his sudden death. An interesting read - the majority of the book is interviews with Adams, thoughts by his friends and bits and pieces of his writing. The actual Salmon of Doubt part is only about 100 pages. I was glad to have once last glance of Dirk but as is usually the case with unfinished works - wished it was longer...

Certainly a gem for all Douglas Adams fans, containing a collection of articles, speeches and short stories with a broad topic ranging from such as hiking up Kilimanjaro in a rhino-suit to how computers' keybords will look in the future. If you're familiar with Douglas's writing style, you'll recognise that he uses similar techniques when writing both long novels and short chronicles. The book is an opportunity to not only enjoy the writers ideas one last time, but also to get to know the person behind those ideas better.

The beggining of what was supposed to become a new Dirk-Gently book doesn't dissapoint, and it lures you in to a world of hollistic complexity, only in the way that Douglas Adams can.
My personal opinion is that the book is a casual read. Because it consists of unrelated material, it's easy to get into any page at any time and there's no need to rush the read.

Another sidenote is that the book can be enjoyed by readers who are not familiar with Douglas Adams or his work. It can be a good way of getting to know the author and his writing style, but, of course, the book is most appealing to Douglas Adams fans who appreciate his character and know a thing or two about the guy.

brief synopsis:
Dirk continues his detecting adventures.

setting:
DaveLand
Primrose Hill (London)
Los Angeles, California
Chicago
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sante Fe

named personalities:
Dave - presumably a real-estate agent
Clive - the patron saint of real-estate agents
Kermit the Frog - a Muppet character
Sam - maybe a lawyer
Dirk Gently aka D Jenttry - an English private detective
Melinda - Dirk's prospective client
Gusty Winds - a four-year-old male siamese cat
Thor - the ancient Norse God of Thunder; a polytheistic thug from Norway
Kate Schechter - an American girl of Dirk's acquaintance
Josh, Jude, Julian, Julio, Justin, Karl, Karel, Keir, Keith, Kelvin, Kendall, Kendrick, Kennedy, Kenneth, Kenny, Kentigern, Kermit, Kevin, Kieran, Kimberly, Kirby, Kirk - names Dirk had a computer read to ascertain a batty, old woman's dog's forgotten name
Judge Dredd - a fictional law enforcement and judicial officer in the dystopian future city of Mega-City One
Kierkegaard - a batty, old woman's dog
Christ - Jesus Christ, a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader
Frank - Dirk's supposed employer
The Great Zaganza 'GZ' - Dirk's disreputable friend who writes horoscopes
Desmond - a three-ton rhinoceros
John Selwyn Gummer - a British Conservative Party politician
Henry VIII - a king of England
John Ranting - a courtly scumbag
Percy Ranting - a Victorian rubber magnate
Roy Harrison - Desmond's keeper from Chatsfield
Joe - a large, fat, sweaty man
Bruce Willis - an American actor

Now I can leave the earth in peace.

I’ve been putting off reading this book for a while, because I knew the Dirk Gently story was unfinished and I knew not having a conclusion would bother me. And I was correct. But I’m still very very happy I read it, because it was very very funny. I like reading stories about Dirk.

Even though the 11 chapters of The Salmon of Doubt was at the end of this anthology-type book, it’s what I read first because it’s what I was most excited about, I still really enjoyed the rest of it when I read it. I wasn’t actually expecting myself to, but Douglas Adams was an incredibly funny man with some seriously hot takes and questionable opinions that I sometimes agree with and sometimes don’t. A lot of the content in this is utterly ridiculous, and some of it really thought provoking.

Anyway, I have laughed out loud reading this book, and if you are a fan of Dirk Gently and/or Douglas Adams this is definitely worth reading.

3.5 Stars

A Final Collection of Douglas Adams. Some of his Colums, Diaries a single Chapter taken out of the "Hitchhiker"-Universe and 9 Chapter of the third Dirk Gently Book.
The Colums are a bit much and a Stretch to read but the third and final part makes the book a fun read and really sad in a way. Would have loved to read what Adams' would have made out of it.