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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Studio : New Millennium Press
by New Millennium Press
Publisher : New Millennium Press
Released : 2002-05
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 4
EAN : 9781590072561
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 197 reviews)
List Price : $25.00
Our Price : $86.23
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Book Description |
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Don't leave earth without this story of the end of the world and the happy-go-lucky days that follow. The writing of New York Times Best-selling author, Douglas Adams, has been brilliantly successful on both sides of the Atlantic in radio, television, theatre and spoken word audio. |
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Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy |
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Really enjoyed the book. Got this one for a birthday gift and the young person was elated! |
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A Must Read |
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It's a great book of humor. Picks at mankind's silly "fads" and "governmental" way of doing things and turns it all into one gigantic (inter-galactic) joke. This should really be made into a must read for High Schoolers. |
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A short, simple, silly, spoof of space sci-fi |
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As this outlandish story begins, earthling Arthur Dent, lying in front of a bulldozer about to demolish his house to make room for a byway, doesn't realize that finding a new home is the least of his worries. After convincing him to leave his post to share a drink, his unintentionally conspicuously-named alien (unbeknownst to Dent) friend of five years, Ford Prefect, plies him with drinks and then shares the big news - the earth is about to be demolished to make way for...an intergalactic byway. Fortunately, Prefect is able to save them both from demolition, after which they become space travel companions. Defying what appear to be insurmountable odds, the two are able to survive certain death and spend time with former acquaintances. During their journey they learn what Prefect has been missing during the 15 years he was stranded on earth, as well as the meaning of life and how the earth was first formed. A central part of the plot is the existence and content of the guide that Prefect was working on when he got stuck on earth, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It contains helpful information on a variety of topics for galaxy travelers like this, (p 76) "Space...is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is." This short novel provides a sometimes silly, frequently funny look at alien-human interaction but is probably better for fans of space-related science fiction than average readers. Similar: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. Also good: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. |
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An endorsement from an unofficial member of The Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons |
I was a graduate student in philosophy when Hitchhiker first came out. Either because I was overwhelmed with school work, or because I (foolishly) thought I was too brainy for Douglas Adams' little gem, I breezed through about half of it, concluded that it was crap, and tossed it aside. (Shades of Majikthise!)
Now, some 30 years later, I've given it the serious read it deserved all along, and discovered why Hitchhiker has so many fans. It's hilarious, of course; Adams' talent for weaving together non sequiturs is unparalleled. It's incredibly imaginative, marrying the best of cosmology with the (intentional) worst of pulp science fiction. Best of all (at least so far as I'm concerned), it's extraordinarily philosophical, chock-full of logical jokes and wonderfully paradoxical arguments. But it makes its philosophical points parabolically, and with such a whimsical and funny touch, that the depth can easily be missed.
Some examples: the hilarious logical conundrum involving identity and substitution in which Ford Perfect entwines the bulldozer-happy Mr. Prosser; the famous Babel Fish demonstration of the nonexistence of God; the sly allusion at the end of Chapter 9 to design arguments for the existence of God; the sperm whale's discovery of impermanence in life and personal identity; the parable about searching for undiscoverables that features Veet Voojagig's search for Planet Ballpoint Pen; the ontological nature of a world in which improbabilities become probable; the wrangle between humanists and technicians; and of course Deep Thought's search for the meaning of everything--which, among other issues, invites readers to think more about the propriety of questions than the virtue of answers.
Even though it's taken me 30 years, I'm glad I've finally rectified a serious failing in my education by reading Hitchhiker. And now, on to the greatest test of all: using it in the classroom as a text! I can't wait.
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Very Funny |
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This is definitely one of the funniest books I've ever read. The jokes in this book are well executed, and some are the punchline to the whole book. It's pretty short, so if you're a regular reader, you'll finish it in probably less than a week at most, but it's definitely worth its hardcover. Great book. |
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