Ratings52
Average rating3.6
On Friday, May 11, 2001, the world mourned the untimely passing of Douglas Adams, beloved creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, dead of a heart attack at age forty-nine. Thankfully, in addition to a magnificent literary legacy--which includes seven novels and three co-authored works of nonfiction--Douglas left us something more. The book you are about to enjoy was rescued from his four computers, culled from an archive of chapters from his long-awaited novel-in-progress, as well as his short stories, speeches, articles, interviews, and letters. In a way that none of his previous books could, The Salmon of Doubt provides the full, dazzling, laugh-out-loud experience of a journey through the galaxy as perceived by Douglas Adams. From a boy's first love letter (to his favorite science fiction magazine) to the distinction of possessing a nose of heroic proportions; from climbing Kilimanjaro in a rhino costume to explaining why Americans can't make a decent cup of tea; from lyrical tributes to the sublime pleasures found in music by Procol Harum, the Beatles, and Bach to the follies of his hopeless infatuation with technology; from fantastic, fictional forays into the private life of Genghis Khan to extended visits with Dirk Gently and Zaphod Beeblebrox: this is the vista from the elevated perch of one of the tallest, funniest, most brilliant, and most penetrating social critics and thinkers of our time.Welcome to the wonderful mind of Douglas Adams.From the Hardcover edition.
Featured Series
3 primary booksDirk Gently is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1987 with contributions by Douglas Adams.
Featured Series
6 primary books8 released booksThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 9-book series with 6 primary works first released in 1979 with contributions by Douglas Adams and Eoin Colfer.
Reviews with the most likes.
If you love DA it will fill you with such sadness that he died way too early. If you know him peripherally then give this collection a miss. Three stars are the average between the five I would give with my heart and brain, and the one for the very uneven collection of material.
An excellent overview of what made Douglas Adams such a unique observer of life. I'd go as far to say, if you have never read anything else written by him, this would be a great place to start.
This book is a combination collection of essays/speeches, short stories, and the last incomplete novel of Douglas Adams. Reading it made me sad all over again that the world lost such a brilliant mind so suddenly and tragically. In this collection, you can feel his passionate love for the environment and technology and his hopes for their coexistence. You also get a healthy smattering of what might have been in had he lived to follow through on some of his ideas. I've put off reading this book for a while because I knew it would make me sad, but I'm glad to have read it.