book data
2,688 ratings,
3.85
average rating, 153 reviews
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published
April 26th 2005
(first published 2002)
by Del Rey
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages
isbn
0345455290
(isbn13: 9780345455291)
description
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 h...more
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avg 3.85
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
Douglas Adams fans
Readers beware: The Salmon of Doubt is not a single novel, but rather a collection of goods pulled from Adams' computer after his death--including a draft of the first few chapters of his next Dirk Gently story (also titled The Salmon of Doubt, thus the larger part of this collection's title). Also enclosed in this volume are a series of short stories, essays, travelogues, and other random snippets, some of which date back over a decade, and most of which have little to do with the next entry, e...more
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If you love Douglas Adams this book is an absolute must read. It's got some great incite into the man who could make a pot of petunias think to itself, 'Not again.' A large part of my enjoyment was finding out about Adams as a person, and in turn finding out that I've got some stuff in common with him. I mean sure I haven't ridden a stingray like he has or written the funniest books of all time and granted I'm not British, BUT we do make our tea the same way, we're both have the same religious b...more
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This is a delightful and maddening book. This collection of essays, columns, speech transcripts and random musings was culled from Adams' computers after his tragic death at the age of 49. The collection offers new insight into one of the world's most gifted humorists, and there is both pleasure and education to be had in reading his thoughts on such diverse topics as music, atheism, evolutionary biology, conservation and computers.
The last section of the book contains the beginnin...more
The last section of the book contains the beginnin...more
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A kind of poor book which just happens to be filled with awesome.
I'd really like a well-organized and indexed collection of all of Douglas Adams' short writings. Round up all the columns and editorials he wrote, the text he did for his websites, everything, and get it all tied up with a bow and some context. Salmon isn't that collection; the writings are just tossed into poorly-defined buckets with no real TOC to speak of (and let us not speak of indexes), and there's no real way to...more
I'd really like a well-organized and indexed collection of all of Douglas Adams' short writings. Round up all the columns and editorials he wrote, the text he did for his websites, everything, and get it all tied up with a bow and some context. Salmon isn't that collection; the writings are just tossed into poorly-defined buckets with no real TOC to speak of (and let us not speak of indexes), and there's no real way to...more
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Read in July, 2002
Definitely worth reading. The first two-thirds is short pieces by or about Douglas Adams, so don't go buying it thinking it's a nearly complete novel. The last eighty pages or so is the 'novel', which is sort of halfway between Dirk Gently and the Hitchhiker's series. It's good, for unfinished stuff. There's only four pages or so where the prose is obviously rough, and it's still pretty funny. It reminds me of the whole 'Gilda does something funny' thing from Saturday Night Live. One of the guys...more
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Read in March, 2009
How terribly sad I am to have read the final published words of Douglas Adams. To never again laugh for the first time at one of his absurdities or freshly marvel at his wit is a painful thing to consider. I've put off the reading of Salmon of Doubt for several years now because I always wanted to have something more of his in reserve. But now the timing felt right, having just purchased my Kindle, to make his book the very first e-book I've ever read. I know that that would please him, and it p...more
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Read in February, 2009
A book by Douglas Adams. Well, it's not actually by him, except in the sense that they were words that he wrote, mostly in that order. But he was dead when it was published. Collection of some previously published essays and the fragments of his final novel, which was harvested in bits from filing cabinets and from the hard drive of his computer, including some bits that weren't meant to be seen by the general public, as they were deleted, but someone foolhardily recovered the bits and slapped t...more
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An unfinished book, random articles retreived from the author's computer after his untimely death, and a few obituaries makes up this compelation.
I love Douglas Adams, and this book is filled with insights to his mind and thoughts over the years. His ability to point out the inane, such as our inability to predict the turn of the millenium when programming computers (remember the Y2K bug?), is simply brilliant.
The actual book part, the "Salmon of doubt" is unfin...more
I love Douglas Adams, and this book is filled with insights to his mind and thoughts over the years. His ability to point out the inane, such as our inability to predict the turn of the millenium when programming computers (remember the Y2K bug?), is simply brilliant.
The actual book part, the "Salmon of doubt" is unfin...more
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Read in February, 2009
While many of the pieces included in this collection were, a) entertaining, b) somewhat informative, c) diverse, and d) well written peeks into the beliefs and personality of the author, the overall effect was also, e) incomplete. Of course that's to be understood, as it IS a posthumous gathering of magazine articles, interviews, and an unfinished 'Dirk Gently' story. One does wonder, however, if it was really necessary to publish "The Salmon of Doubt". Being as unfinished and maybe ha...more
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Read in February, 2009
A compilation of stuff Douglas Adams had written over the years that was dug up and published after he died. Some of it was hilarious (he could write about anything and make it interesting. And he did!). Some of it a little less interesting (his rants on atheism vs agnosticism didn't really make a lot of sense). And other parts were wonderfully dated, like when he wrote in the 80s about this new thing called the personal computer but didn't know how it was relevant to a writer. A little sad to b...more
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Read in October, 2008
This book is a collection of Douglas Adams' writing, some of which has been seen in newspapers or magazines, some of which is an incomplete Dirk Gently story and some of which is about rather than by Adams.
The journalism on technology is remarkably prescient, as well as being warm and often extremely funny. The beginnings of the Dirk Gently novel made me want to read on and find out how the story would unfold (although it seems rather likely that even Adams himself didn't have a par...more
The journalism on technology is remarkably prescient, as well as being warm and often extremely funny. The beginnings of the Dirk Gently novel made me want to read on and find out how the story would unfold (although it seems rather likely that even Adams himself didn't have a par...more
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Letzte Reminiszenzen an einen unersetzlichen Geist: The Salmon of Doubt' ist eine Zusammenstellung von Essays, Zeitungsbeiträgen und Redeausschnitten von D. Adams und über D. Adams sowie editierten Fragmenten eines Romans. Dieser Romanentwurf ist für mich eher einer der schwächeren Teile des Buches. Aus den kürzeren Beiträgen entsteht ein viel prägnanteres Bild des Menschen Douglas Adams. Sie handeln von Technik, Computern, Ökologie, Evolution, Musik und vielem anderen. Sie zeigen, das...more
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Read in June, 2007
It's an eclectic farewell to Douglas N. Adams (DNA). The most enlightening parts are his interviews on atheism. Knowing his outlook on religion and the "big picture" makes a lot of sense in the context of the absurd/random/beautiful universe he created in the Hitchhiker's Guides. Greed, love, tragedy, corporate and government schemes, and ginandtonics permeate the universe and make it a weird and funny place, but there is no real order or grand plan. Just a note from the almighty sayin...more
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‘The Salmon of Doubt’ is a posthumously published collection of words put into a fantastic collection of arrays by Douglas Adams whom had previously been assembling words in a very pleasing manner in the various incarnations of ‘The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy’ and the ‘Dirk Gently’ novels.
The book contains tributes from comic actor and writer Stephen Fry, Nicholas Wroe, scientist and writer Richard Dawkins and the editor of this collection, Peter Guzzardi. All of wh...more
The book contains tributes from comic actor and writer Stephen Fry, Nicholas Wroe, scientist and writer Richard Dawkins and the editor of this collection, Peter Guzzardi. All of wh...more
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Read in December, 2005
recommends it for:
Fans of Douglas Adams, techno-readers
I'm a huge fan of Douglas Adams and jumped at the chance to spend one last book with him. Be warned: this is not another Dirk Gently book. The end of this edition only contains part of an unfinished Gently manuscript, one that is nowhere as polished as Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, the true last book in that fictional detective's run. The majority of Salmon of Doubt consists of essays by Mr. Adams on such topics as his eternal struggle with gadgets, his atheism and critical views on religion, ...more
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recommends it for:
Doug Adams Fanatics
A collection of writings found on Douglas Adams' computer after his death. (Supposedly "unpublished" although that may mean "in book form;" some of them may have seen print in magazines.) A short tribute by Adams' friend Richard Dawkins is also included, as is the program from Adams' funeral. There are several unnecessary introductions, not written by Adams.
The meaning of the title is never explained in the book but a quick Google search suggests that it's a play ...more
The meaning of the title is never explained in the book but a quick Google search suggests that it's a play ...more
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I always thought "The Salmon of Doubt" was a novel. Apparently it was going to be. The book now called "The Salmon of Doubt" is a collection of Adams's writings found on his computer after he died. Interviews, essays, speeches, some look like journal entries. There are a couple of short stories in there, and the first eleven chapters of the novel that he was going to title "The Salmon of Doubt."
Whether he's writing fiction or not, Douglas Adams is absolu...more
Whether he's writing fiction or not, Douglas Adams is absolu...more
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Read in January, 2009
recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys the writings of Douglas Adams
I miss Douglas Adams. This book is like wrapping yourself in a warm Douglas Adams blanket.
Pulled from his many Mac hard drives, this book contains an assortment of essays, articles, random thoughts and anecdotes, as well as his unfinished work on The Salmon of Doubt, what was to be the next Dirk Gently book(though he had spoken of turning it into the last Hitchhiker's book instead). I particularly enjoy his musings on technology, though everything he writes is enjoyable, regardless ...more
Pulled from his many Mac hard drives, this book contains an assortment of essays, articles, random thoughts and anecdotes, as well as his unfinished work on The Salmon of Doubt, what was to be the next Dirk Gently book(though he had spoken of turning it into the last Hitchhiker's book instead). I particularly enjoy his musings on technology, though everything he writes is enjoyable, regardless ...more
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This book is funny and interesting and quirky, like all Douglas Adams books. However, this is one of my go-to books when I'm feeling down and need inspiration; when I feel like my life is a sham and I'm wallowing in depression. This book wraps me up like an old blanket and reminds me that the world is full of questions, and sometimes that's the glory of it.
Yes, I find comfort in the words of an atheist. Who knew?
Yes, I find comfort in the words of an atheist. Who knew?
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
???
I was very disappointed with this book. I really enjoyed the Hitchhiker's Galaxy "trilogy", and got a kick out of Douglas Adams wry sense of humor. I even had the computer game (in the 80s and early 90s) based on the Hitchhiker books. This book is a collection of essays, and articles, and only a part of it is written by Adams as a novel...and it was meant to be one of his Dirk Gently novels, which I am not fond of.
To be fair, I have not managed to even finish the book. But ...more
To be fair, I have not managed to even finish the book. But ...more
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quotes from this book
"Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for. "
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