false 362 7 It all started when Douglas Adams demolished planet Earth in order to make way for an intergalactic expressway&#8211;and then invited everyone to thumb a ride on a comical cosmic road trip with the likes of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and the other daft denizens of deep space immortalized in The Hitchhiker&#8217;s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams made the universe a much funnier place to inhabit and forever changed the way we think about towels, extraterrestrial poetry, and especially the number 42. And then, too soon, he was gone.<br><br>Just who was this impossibly tall Englishman who wedded science fiction and absurdist humor to create the multimillion-selling five-book &#8220;trilogy&#8221; that became a cult phenomenon read round the world? Even if you&#8217;ve dined in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, you&#8217;ve been exposed to only a portion of the offbeat, endearing, and irresistible Adams mystique. Have you met the only official unofficial member of Monty Python&#8217;s Flying Circus? The very first person to purchase a Macintosh computer? The first (and thus far only) author to play a guitar solo onstage with Pink Floyd? Adams was also the writer so notorious for missing deadlines that he had to be held captive in a hotel room under the watchful eye of his editor; the creator of the epic computer game Starship Titanic<i>;</i> and a globetrotting wildlife crusader.<br><br>A longtime friend of the author, Nick Webb reveals many quirks and contradictions: Adams as the high-tech-gadget junkie and lavish gift giver . . .irrepressible ham and painfully timid soul . . . gregarious conversationalist and brooding depressive . . . brilliant intellect and prickly egotist. Into the brief span of forty-nine years, Douglas Adams exuberantly crammed more lives than the most resilient cat&#8211;while still finding time and energy to pursue whatever side projects captivated his ever-inquisitive mind. <br><br>By turns touching, tongue-in-cheek, and not at all timid about telling the warts-and-all truth, Wish You Were Here is summation as celebration&#8211; a look back at a life well worth the vicarious reliving, and studded with anecdote, droll comic incident, and heartfelt insight as its subject&#8217;s own unforgettable tales of cosmic wanderlust. For the countless fans of Douglas Adams and his unique and winsome world, here is a wonderful postcard: to be read, reread, and treasured for the memories it bears.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i> 4669 2003 Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams total:94|5:17|4:42|3:30|2:5|1:0| 94 353 201 10 5 1 false false Wed Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 11:48:40 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 21:36:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Mar 19 18:57:55 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 20 19:52:16 -0700 2007
I'm not much of a biographies person but this one is almost like hanging out with Adams, he's that we...more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 11:36:32 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 08:49:07 -0800 2009
Personally I find it extremely heartening that one of the funniest, most capable writers of the last few decades was beset by crippling self-doubt as to his abilities or chance of success in the world. Add to that the fact that are plenty of people who just as ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Nov 17 17:12:39 -0800 2007 Sat Nov 17 17:13:23 -0800 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sat Dec 20 16:14:26 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 16:15:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri May 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 16 14:53:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 16 14:53:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 15 09:19:51 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 09:21:40 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Dec 06 10:01:23 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 10:01:54 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 17:28:05 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 17:31:35 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Aug 22 10:30:41 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 05:32:57 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 10:30:41 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Nov 13 12:42:44 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 12:42:44 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 12 19:33:50 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 19:33:50 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 17 12:26:01 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 12:26:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 14 05:30:20 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 05:30:20 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Oct 05 15:14:33 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 07:44:46 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 03 19:52:19 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 19:52:19 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Sep 09 20:45:04 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 20:45:04 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 08 13:40:26 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 13:40:26 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Sep 07 12:01:42 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 12:01:42 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Aug 28 17:59:14 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 17:59:14 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=329435