It's safe to say that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the funniest science fiction novels ever written. Adams spoofs many core science fiction tropes: space travel, aliens, interstellar war--stripping away all sense of wonder and repainting them as commonplace, even silly.

This omnibus edition begins with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth's destruction. Then in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur and his new friends travel to the end of time and discover the true reason for Earth's existence. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, the gang goes on a mission to save the entire universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish recounts how Arthur finds true love and "God's Final Message to His Creation." Finally, Mostly Harmless is the story of Arthur's continuing search for home, in which he instead encounters his estranged daughter, who is on her own quest. There's also a bonus short story, "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe," more of a vignette than a full story, which wraps up this completist's package of the Don't Panic chronicles. As the series progresses, its wackier elements diminish, but the satire of human life and foibles is ever present. --Brooks Peck


The Washington Post Book World
Rambunctious and very funny...a sort of rollicking good read.


Book Description
This outrageous volume contains six zany, out-of-this-world adventure stories by this incomparable novelist. From the very first to the very latest—all best sellers—includes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish; Young Zaphod Plays it Safe; and Mostly Harmless. 768 pages.


From the Publisher
At last, the complete Hitchhiker series in one volume! Five novels, including the new bestseller Mostly Harmless -- plus a bonus story, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe!


From the Inside Flap
This outrageous volume contains six zany, out-of-this-world adventure stories by this incomparable novelist. From the very first to the very latest—all best sellers—includes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish; Young Zaphod Plays it Safe; and Mostly Harmless. 768 pages.

ANNOTATION

This volume contains six zany, outrageous, out-of-this-world adventure stories by bestselling author Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish; Young Zaphod; and Mostly Harmless.

FROM THE PUBLISHER