The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #1

The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

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State-of-the-art, digitally generated graphic images and tricky visual puns accompany the complete text of the cult classic story of one young man's zany adventures in outer space. 50,000 first printing.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12,1979

This edition

Format
96 pages, Hardcover
Published
October 11, 1994 by Harmony
ISBN
9780517599242
ASIN
0517599244
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Zaphod Beeblebrox

    Zaphod Beeblebrox

    Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the various versions of the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefec...

  • Arthur Dent

    Arthur Dent

    Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played by Simon Jones (...

  • Ford Prefect

    Ford Prefect

    Ford Prefect is a fictional character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. His role as Arthur Dents friend – and rescuer, when the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass at t...

  • Trillian

    Trillian

    Trillian Astra is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. She is most commonly referred to simply as "Trillian", a modification of her birth name, which she adopted because it sounded more "space-li...

  • Marvin, the paranoid android

    Marvin The Paranoid Android

    Marvin is a robot (android) that has been programmed with a "Genuine People Personality" unfortunately he is therefore genuinely depressed.more...

  • Slartibartfast

About the author

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.


Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
34(34%)
4 stars
37(37%)
3 stars
28(28%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
99 reviews All reviews
April 26,2025
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Otostopçunun Galaksi Rehberi bir radyo oyunu olarak başlayıp bir sürü değişikliğe uğrayarak bir kitap serisi haline gelmiş. Uzun zamandır baskısı yoktu ve Alfa Kitaptan tekrar çıktı. Elime geçtiği gibi de merakıma yenik düşüp okudum. Kitabın önsözü bile aslında size nasıl bir kitap okuyacağınızın izlenimini veriyordu.

Başlarda adapte olmakta fazlasıyla zorlandım. Hatta ve hatta ‘ben ne okuyorum ya’ dedim çoğu yerde. Bazen olaylar aşırı tuhaf bir hal aldığı için kitaptan koptuğum anlarda oldu. Oluşturulan evren oldukça ilginç. Bir saniye durun ve farelerin hayatın anlamını bulmak için insanları yaratmış olduğunu düşünün. İşte o kadar ilginç bir evren.

n  ’Hayatım boyunca dünyada bir şeylerin, büyük hatta uğursuz bir şeylerin döndüğüne, ama hiç kimsenin bana bir şey söylemediğine dair tuhaf ve açıklanmaz bir his vardı içimde.’n

Alışılmış bilimkurguların biraz ötesinde mizah yüklü bir kitap Otostopçunun Galaksi Rehberi. Diyalogları okurken inanılmaz eğlendim ve keşke hiç susmasalar dedim. İnce mesajları, felsefi düşünceleri, varoluşsal sorunları absürt mizahla harmanlayıp diyaloglara yerleştirmiş Douglas Adams.

n   ‘Ne aradığımı bilmiyorum.’
‘Neden?’
‘Çünkü… çünkü… ne aradığımı bilirsem onu arayamam.’
n


Her şey kestirme yol yapımı için Arthur Dent’in evinin yıkılması ile başlıyor. Daha doğrusu yıkılmaya çalışılması ile. Arthur buldozerin önüne yatıp buna engel olmak isterken Ford Prefect geliyor ve ona dünyanın sonuna 12 dakika kaldığını söylüyor. Çünkü Vogonlar uzayda kestirme bir yol yapılması için Dünya’yı yok edecekler. Son anda Ford ve Arthur otostop çekerek Vogon gemisine binip kurtulmayı başarırlar ama bundan sonra olacak şeyler Arthur’un asla hayal edemeyeceği gibidir.

Huysuz manik depresif robot Marvin kesinlikle en sevdiğim karakter oldu. İçimde bir yerlerde bir Marvin barındırdığım için de olabilir tabi. Ama gerçekten haksız olduğunu kim söyleyebilir ki ?

n  ‘Hayat! Sakın bana hayattan bahsetmeyin.’n

Google’da ‘what is the answer to life, the universe and everything’ diye arattığınızda karşınıza 42 cevabı çıkar.
Cevap 42.
Peki asıl soru ne ?
Bu kitabı okuyun çünkü direnmek faydasız.
April 26,2025
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Es el primer libro de humor con el que de verdad me he reído.

Es una historia disparatada en la que todo encaja perfectamente y hace que tenga sentido.

Al principio me costó entrar en la historia porque tenía que estar muy atenta al haber tantas palabras inventadas, pero poco a poco te acostumbras y la lectura se hace más ligera.

Todos los personajes tienen algo que los hace especiales. Marvin es genial, cada vez que aparecía a mí me daba la risa. Y el pobre Arthur, que no entiende nada de lo que está pasando... La escena con los ratones ha sido hilarante.

Y por último hay que destacar el trabajo del traductor/traductora/traductores (no he encontrado quién fue). Tuvo que ser dificilísimo sacar adelante este trabajo y que todo quedase tan bien. Sin duda, se merece/merecen un premio.
*Ya los he encontrado, no había mirado aquí en Goodreads
April 26,2025
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I had such a great time reading this book. If I wasn't laughing out loud, I was grinning from ear to ear. xD
After planet Earth is demolished to build a hyperspatial express route, Arthur Dent is rescued by his friend Ford Prefect and together they travel through space.

“How did we get here?” he asked, shivering slightly.
“We hitched a lift,” said Ford.
“Excuse me?” said Arthur. “Are you trying to tell me that we just stuck out our thumbs and some green bug-eyed monster stuck his head out and said, Hi fellas, hop right in. I can take you as far as the Basingstoke roundabout?”
“Well,” said Ford, “the Thumb’s an electronic sub-Etha signaling device, the roundabout’s at Barnard’s Star six light years away, but otherwise, that’s more or less right.”
“And the bug-eyed monster?”
“Is green, yes.”
“Fine,” said Arthur, “when can I get home?”


This review describes my feelings much more coherently  J.G. Keely's review

Best part of the book:  
“We are the ones who will hear,” said Phouchg, “the answer to the great question of Life…!”
“The Universe…!” said Loonquawl.
“And Everything…!”
“Shhh,” said Loonquawl with a slight gesture, “I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!”
There was a moment’s expectant pause whilst panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel.
“Good morning,” said Deep Thought at last.
“Er… Good morning, O Deep Thought,” said Loonquawl nervously, “do you have…er, that is…”
“An answer for you?” interrupted Deep Thought majestically. “Yes. I have.”
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
“There really is one?” breathed Phouchg.
“There really is one,” confirmed Deep Thought.
“To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything?”
“Yes.”
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
“And you’re ready to give it to us?” urged Loonquawl.
“I am.”
“Now?”
“Now,” said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
“Though I don’t think,” added Deep Thought, “that you’re going to like it.”
“Doesn’t matter!” said Phouchg. “We must know it! Now!”
“Now?” inquired Deep Thought.
“Yes! Now…”
“Alright,” said the computer and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable.
“You’re really not going to like it,” observed Deep Thought.
“Tell us!”
“Alright,” said Deep Thought. “The Answer to the Great Question…”
“Yes…!”
“Of Life, the Universe and Everything…” said Deep Thought.
“Yes…!”
“Is…” said Deep Thought, and paused.
“Yes…!”
“Is…”
“Yes…!!!…?”
“Forty-two,” said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.
  

I would definitely be reading more of Douglas Adams's work! This was light, fun, and yet so very memorable.
April 26,2025
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چی میگید اگر بهتون بگم توی این کتاب رئیس جمهور شدن "ترامپ "پیش ببینی شده؟
(کتاب سال ۱۹۷۹ نوشته شده )

کتاب طنز بانمکیه، توش میتونی جمله های فلسفی باحال پیدا کنی برای استوری اینستاگرامت و خودتو کول نشون بدی. درباره‌ی معنای زندگی ام سوال می پرسه و جوابشم نمیده طبق معمول. نکته‌ش اما این نیست . چیزی که همه‌ی این کتاب میخواد بگه اینه که برو زندگی کن،حالشو ببر و سوالاتی رو که جوابشون دو به توان بی‌نهایت غیر محتمله، بیخیال شو. مثل منکه هیچی از فیزیک کوانتوم حالیم نمیشه بنابراین وانمود میکنم اصلا وجود نداره.
راستی شاید براتون جالب باشه بدونید معنی اسم من به زبان ساکنان سحابی ماژلان میشه *دختری که هیچی از فیزیک کوانتوم نمیفهمه و هیچ وقت ته دیگ سیب زمینی هاش نمیسوزه.*
..
همه‌ی کتاب رو توی چهار ساعت خوندم. نه اینکه خیلی خفن و پرکشش باشه‌ها، فقط برای اینکه صدای رعد و برق و بارون نمی ذاشت بخوابم.
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عذاب وجدان گرفتم ...بی‌انصافی نباشه داستانش‌هم بانمک بود خب. احتیاج داشتم به طنزش. جلدهای بعدی رو هم میخونم.
فکر کنم نوجوونا بیشتر ازش خوششون بیاد. شاید!
April 26,2025
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I honestly fail to understand the appeal of this book. Can't bear to listen to it any more...
April 26,2025
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I had forgotten how frigging frood
This book is which I read
When I was still a hip young dude
With nothing in my head

Not that there is much more today
Inside this ageing brain
—Six poems two novels and a play
Is all it doth retain

But if a Vogon constructor fleet
Came down to smash the Earth
Steamrolling houses into jeet
And streets into gallurph

And I could salvage but one book
Before I hitched a ride
Away from our big crumbling rock
I think I’d pick this Guide

For face to face with the extent
Of Time and Space and Void
I’d need to laugh with Arthur Dent
And cry with Marvin Droid
April 26,2025
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If you want to know the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, this is the place to go!

Douglas Adams has been writing radio scripts for the BBC in the same vein as the Monthy Python's Flying Circus, or Rowan Atkinson's sitcom Blackadder, or even Mel Brook's Spaceballs. This cult novel is no different and quite obviously a surreal parody of the space-opera science-fiction genre. It mostly juggles with logic and wordplays, like Lewis Carroll, and quite a few episodes seem to be inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

On the whole, many dialogues include hilarious schoolboy pranks and punchlines, and the plot (the zany adventures of the last surviving human and his bizarre sidekicks across the galaxy) is quite dizzying. Not much else to take away from all that though, except that the answer to said Ultimate Question is indeed probably  forty-two .
April 26,2025
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This is another instance where it's daunting to write a review because the novel is well-known and loved by millions of people. As a Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader, it's embarrassing that I've only read this once, and I've waited 'till 2016 to read this. I'm glad that I can finally say that I've read this. I've finally read and enjoyed one of the most influential books of the sci-fi genre.

I understand all the buzz regarding this novel. This is the first time in my whole life that I laughed out loud while reading a novel. I've never believed that a novel could be humorous enough to make me elicit more than a giggle or a smile. This novel changed my perception of humor novels in general. I finally have faith in that genre, and an even stronger desire to read more important Sci-Fi novels.

I don't see the need to make a short summary of the novel. You can find other reviews that did that. I'm writing this review to express my feelings toward the novel, and the journey that I had with it. Speaking of journey, it was a damn short one. I honestly hate gigantic novels, but it's always fulfilling to finish one if the book is great. This book I can consider amazing, but too short.

Aside from the humor, I enjoyed the wittiness of the novel and the author himself. The ideas he incorporated in the novel are vital for the readers to understand. It may be a humor novel, but it's more than that as a whole.

The characters are funny and well-developed. The main ones managed to make me laugh. Ford reminds me of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, and Arthur as Leonard Hofstadter. This is like a classic Big Bang theory episode, or maybe The Big Bang theory is a modern Hitchhiker.

The plot is not that complex, but it is interesting. I'm always interested to read about other planets in the galaxy, even if it's just fiction. I like to imagine that there are hundreds or thousands of worlds out there in the galaxy. Funny thing that the Earth blew up in this novel. Funnier that they considered Earth as a funny name in the beginning.

All the ideologies Adams incorporated here are interesting to me. How some animals are superior and manipulated us, or how the Earth was all a project of some aliens. It's funny and vastly interesting. I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

4.5/5 stars. I decided to round it down because while the novel truly entertained me, it still lacked something and made me think twice about the 5-star rating.
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