The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1-4 + short story)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1-4 & short stories)

by Douglas Adams

4.59 of 5 stars 4.59 · rating details · 2,072 ratings · 140 reviews

Includes the first four books and the short story "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe."

Hardcover, 624 pages

Published October 16th 1989 by Bonanza Books (first published 1989)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Best Humorous Books

471st out of 1,871 books — 3,702 voters

The World According to Garp by John Irving

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre by Emily Brontë

PS suggests

59th out of 100 books — 9 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,951)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 28, 2009 Keely rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, science-fiction, novel, reviewed, uk-and-ireland, space-opera, favorites

The universe is a joke.

Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey.

Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you...more The universe is a joke.

Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey.

Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him. He's a tall guy, but he'll make room.

For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist. His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted. It turns out it takes little more than a moment's questioning to burst our preconceptions at the seams, yet rarely does this stop us from treating the most ludicrous things as if they were perfectly reasonable.

It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams. What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' quips and absurdities. His approach is much more personable (and less embittered) than Dawkins', which is why I think of Adams as a better face for rational materialism (which is a polite was of saying 'atheism').

Reading his books, it's not hard to see that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't even recognize when a point has actually been made. Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further than the contention between those who believe, and those who don't.

We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectuals--they're not even especially bright--but damn it, they're trying. By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is the natural human state, and the fact that we laugh and sympathize shows that it must be true.

It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous. The absurdists might find this depressing, but they're just a bunch of narcissists, anyhow. Demnading the world make sense and give you purpose is rather self centered when it already contains toasted paninis, attractive people in bathing suits, and Euler's Identity. I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going. Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again. It's not the end of the world.

It's just is a joke, but some of us are in on it.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Jul 21, 2008 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-fiction

Entertainment-1 Stars
Education- 1 Star
Readability- 1 star
Innovation- 0 Stars
Inspiration- 1 Stars

I loved this book. It was pretty easy to read and very funny. Comedy is difficult :)

Marvin the robot captures my view of the world. I know this is most unfortunate. But it doesn't really matter anyway as we will all be dead and gone when the sun goes supernova in 5 billion years. We'll just mope along till then.

The part where the aliens send their invasion force to earth and turns out they are about t...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 12, 2013 Stephanie A. Higa rated it 3 of 5 stars

After reading this I feel like I've overdosed on wit. The writing is extremely clever down to every line, and maybe that's why people are bonkers about the Hitchhiker books, but for me, the continuous droll/cutesy observations about everything got stale pretty quickly. These books aren't bad--they're smart and well-written and most likely meant to be "funny" in that quiet, smirking way. It just seemed to me that Douglas Adams was telling the same jokes over and over again.

The plot is thin. Very...more After reading this I feel like I've overdosed on wit. The writing is extremely clever down to every line, and maybe that's why people are bonkers about the Hitchhiker books, but for me, the continuous droll/cutesy observations about everything got stale pretty quickly. These books aren't bad--they're smart and well-written and most likely meant to be "funny" in that quiet, smirking way. It just seemed to me that Douglas Adams was telling the same jokes over and over again.

The plot is thin. Very thin. It starts off well enough: just as the city is about to demolish the house of our hapless protagonist Arthur Dent to make way for a bypass, the Vogons demolish the entire planet Earth to make way for *hyperspace* bypass. The characters jump ship just in time. They travel through time and space, get stuck in prehistoric Earth, eat at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, get saved by "improbability" more than is probable, learn how to fly, save the universe a few times, watch cricket games, and so on and so forth. Fun stuff, right? Right. Except most of it's totally boring, because the characters seem bored (and because of that cloying cleverness). It wouldn't be an issue if the characters were just flat. I've read and loved many books with flat characters. But here, we spend so much time with these people, and they don't seem to care about anything or have any reactions whatsoever. They might as well be sealed up inside of a box. It's just not believable. Arthur got a little more likable in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, because he finally acquired a motive (not a terribly interesting motive, but a motive nevertheless). Or perhaps it's because this book isn't as concerned with being clever/zany as the others. I did enjoy the part in which we discover the meaning of Arthur's beautiful glass fishbowl.

I don't recommend any of these books or the snooze-fest short story at the end. At least, I don't recommend reading all of them in one gulp (even if your "gulp" takes several months of slogging through, as mine did). Play with yesterday's Douglas Adams Doodle instead: http://www.google.com/doodles/douglas...(less)

like · see review

Oct 30, 2011 Христо Блажев rated it 5 of 5 stars

ПЪТЕВОДИТЕЛЯТ! ДЪГЛАС АДАМС! 42!
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/02/4...

ВНИМАНИЕ! БЕЗ ПАНИКА! Дори ако ще разрушават къщата ви заради някакъв си околовръстен път. Няма смисъл да се ядосвате – цялата планета подлежи на унищожение заради космическа супермагистрала. С тази задача са натоварени вогоните – а те са упорита раса във всяко едно зловещо отношение, включително убийствената им (често буквално) поезия. И желанието да трепят елмазени раци с чукове също.

Артър Дент има кофти ден. Не знае, че...more

like · see review

Sep 29, 2012 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I remember when I first saw this edition. I was in high school and I walked into the local Waldenbooks. They had a display of leather bound editions of classics of Western Literature. War and Peace, Tom Sawyer, A Tale of Two Cities, etc.. I browsed the display, and I stopped at one book. A leather bound edition of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker books. This was before Mostly Harmless was released, I think this leather bound edition was later re-released with Mostly Harmless in it. Anyways... seeing t...more

like · see review

Jun 01, 2011 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't too thrilled with this book. I think I expected a lot more of it due to its fame than it could deliver, and that's probably part of the reason. I don't regret reading this, but I doubt I'll read the fifth book in the series (which is not included in this collection, oddly enough). It was funny at times, but I got bored pretty quickly; that's why it took me so long to read it. It was, I am a bit ashamed to say, a relief to finally finish this book so that I could move on to the next one...more

like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Rhettreaux rated it 5 of 5 stars

When the first two words that popped into my mind to describe this series of books were "endearing" and "mind-opening", I realized how unique this book truly is. The characters are so human (even when they are decidedly NOT), vulnerable, and understandable even while the scenarios they are hurled into are bizarre, inexplicable, and inscrutable. This book made me laugh out loud while I was reading it and made me contemplate how we are tiny specks in the universe whenever I set it down.

Don't feel...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 11, 2010 Olivia rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Can you keep up with the plot?
What would you do if your planet was spontaneously invaded by aliens and then blown up to make a pathway for an intergalactic highway? Well, probably nothing considering you would be dead… but Arthur isn’t! The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an overly dramatic science fiction novel by Douglas Adams, set on different planets throughout the galaxy. In this story Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Marvin, and Trillian travel through the world...more The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Can you keep up with the plot?
What would you do if your planet was spontaneously invaded by aliens and then blown up to make a pathway for an intergalactic highway? Well, probably nothing considering you would be dead… but Arthur isn’t! The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an overly dramatic science fiction novel by Douglas Adams, set on different planets throughout the galaxy. In this story Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Marvin, and Trillian travel through the world of improbability with their newest space ship, The Heart of Gold. I would rate it a total of 5 stars! The reason this book was so good was because it was set in outer space, it was really funny, and you got really attached to the characters!
This book was so good because it was set in outer space! Not many books have this setting. Though many are science-fiction and set in the future, little of them are set outside of earth. The setting moves from earth almost right off the bat. On page 27 they say, “Far away on the opposite side of the galaxy, five hundred thousand light-years away from the star sol, Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Imperial Galactic Government, sped across the seas of Damogran, his ion drive delta boat winking and flashing in the Damogran sun.” This pretty much marks the beginning of this setting. As you can tell that obviously we don’t have “ion drive delta boats” on earth! The fact that Adams created such an exciting story without having much to relate to is incredible! The only problem with this book is that it is really hard to follow, but I’m sure you already knew that by looking at the quote posted above!
Another reason this book was so good was because it was extremely funny. Throughout the book Adams manages to weave an overly dramatic yet still funny story. One of the scenes in the book is when they are waiting for Deep Thought, a amazingly smart computer, to tell them the meaning of life and the answer they receive is…………………….42! That’s it, all the computer comes up with is 42. Oh, and did I mention that this was after thinking about it for seven and a half million years? One quote from the book that I thought was really funny was, “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way bricks don’t.” The book was filled with little phrases as such, creating a fun and whimsical air to the book.
Lastly, the book was so good because you really got attached to the characters. Arthur was such a strange man. At the beginning of the book his house is about to be knocked down (they never explain why) and to prevent this from happening he lays in front of the bulldozer causing confusion and delay. “Come off it, Mr. Dent,” he said, “you can’t win, you know. You can’t lay in front of the bulldozer indefinitely.” This the turns into a fairly large ordeal before Ford shows up and drags Arthur to the bar for a drink. Zaphod was also such a fun character. This two headed man manages to become president just so that he can steal a spaceship that runs on improbability, with his girlfriend he met at a party on earth, Trillian. Lastly there is no way you can’t come to love Marvin. Zaphod’s depressed robot, who almost dies on multiple accounts, only resulting in him hating life even more!
So the reason this book was so amazing was because it was set in outer-space, it was extremely funny, and the characters were easy to get attached to. I really connected to Zaphod who like me tries to find the joke in most things and make life fun and exciting. So in conclusion (not that most of you even read the entire review) I really was made to consider how small we, humans, are compared to everything out there outside of earth, and what we know.
(less)

like · see review

Apr 21, 2011 Jules rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scif-if, liked-it

Book 1: I don't really remember what happens, but I know I liked it a few months ago!
Book 2: This one was definitely my favorite. I like it when the story is told from Zaphod's point of view. Arthur just irks me somehow...
Book 3: I barely could follow what was going on, but that was probably becuase I read most of it on a loud and crowded school bus.
Book 4: REALLY weird ending. Usually I don't like Arthur's point of view on a story, but I like Fenchurch, so she makes up for it ;-) And also, this...more

like · see review

Oct 14, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is about 700+ pages of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's a very entertaining series of books that provide, oddly, a lot of cultural reference even here in the US. Things like the number 42, why it's not bad to have two heads, etc. I'm stuck around 3.5 stars. It was getting long towards the end as I felt that book four was pushing it a little with new characters (kinda, at least alternate dimensional characters). I think reading them one at a time while interspersing them with other...more

like · see review

Jun 14, 2011 TL Jeffcoat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-books, reviewed, comedy, science-fiction

I'm not usually into reading things that are just plain unbelievably silly, but not only did I read the book from beginning to end, then watch the movie, I even read the rest of the books in the series. I was amazed at how the randomness of the book just flowed together and not once did I ever read it and say, why is that even relevant or why did Adams write this? I just laughed my buns off. I probably won't ever read it again, but if you love things like Austin Powers, although less crude, this...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2013 Vicky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recently, a show on our NPR station replayed over several weeks the BBC radio series of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which prompted me to get out my copy and read it again. It still holds up, makes me laugh out loud and provides words of wisdom to live by. Today would have been Adam's 61 birthday and the Google Doodle is a fitting tribute. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/c...

1 like · like · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Aleisha Brumbley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Best flippen book ever! This book made me stop taking everything seriously and inspired me to build an improbability drive in one of the partitioned sectors of my brain. Delectably stimulating the pontification of the sheer ridiculousness of politics and materials and educating on the finer points of being an intergalactic ambassador, this book has it all! Sex appeal, intrigue, suspense, humor, philosophy, and even a guide on the art of levitation. A must read that sums it all up when reality pu...more

like · see review

Aug 07, 2010 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

My review of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is already included elsewhere on this site, so I’ll start with the second novel in the trilogy.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is almost as good as the first novel in the trilogy, with a lot of wordplay, humor, and comic events. In this novel, there is time travel, loud music and a Lord of the Flies situation. One complaint: the storyline involving Zaphod, while it has some interesting incidents, does not really hold together.

Life, the ...more

like · see review

Nov 19, 2011 Christopher Grey rated it 5 of 5 stars

One moment that in many ways transformed me was when I took my leather bound version of this book to a signing for "So Long And Thanks For All the Fish" when I was 16. Douglas Adams, a god in my young eyes, signed the book and shook my hand. I've never felt so close to greatness. And as I've grown and now understand he was not the god I thought he was, I still aspire to create words that can impact someone as much as his impacted me. RIP Douglas Adams.

like · see review

Jul 30, 2011 Benjamin added it

As omnibus editions tend to be on the hefty side, I was pleased that Adams included in the introduction a breakdown of the story's timeline from conception through the publishing of the book I held in my hand, complete with discussion of the chronological deviations (ie. snafus) along the way.

Just as grand as the original, if not better simply for the ease of having them all bound together, the omnibus edition makes me warm inside.

like · see review

Jan 29, 2011 Lurple rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best humorous sci-fi ever written in my humble opinion. If you haven't read any of the books in the series, put everything aside and go read at least the first one. The Complete and Unabridged hardcover makes a fine investment in reading or giving as a gift, even for older children. Read it now!

And Happy Towel day, which comes along every year on May 25th to celebrate Douglas Adam's life and work. Make sure you know where your towel is!

like · see review

Jun 17, 2007 Jesse rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of humorous satire and Sci-fi

I'm still working on it. Finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I found it funny and thought provoking, though the thoughts it provoked were slightly less relevent now than they were just 10 years ago. My biggest thought while reading it is why SO MANY of its fans had a big problem with the U.S.A made movie from a few years ago. Ok it had a happy ending, but its movies..unless they are a horror movie they will more often then not, have a happy ending. Anyways, this isn't goodflicks, its good...more

like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Andrew Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

No-one and I mean no-one has ever written in the fantastical, humorous and engaging style of Adams and I am sure no-one will ever again. These books deserved to be read back to back to back etc. They transport you to the most wonderful worlds of Adams creation that make you want to go back again and again to visit them and his writing. Must have.

like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

My kind of randomness...except for the very last book of the book. Most of that could have been left out, and everything would have been complete with out it, except for the last chapter or so. To vaguely explain, the main character meets a girl (a different girl from the first one), and the author isn't discreet in hiding their activities. So that's why the entire book only gets 4 stars.

like · see review

Aug 15, 2012 Hephaestus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hephaestus' rating system:

5 Stars: The book went above and beyond my expectations, delivering a tremendous literary understanding while not sacrificing the pacing of a compelling story.

4 Stars: The book was everything I had hoped it would be, delivering a terrific story while not blowing my mind.

3 Stars: The book was average - which does NOT mean bad. The book may have been well written, but the story was nothing special.

2 Stars: The book was below average. It did not meet my expectations and...more

like · see review

Apr 02, 2013 Joel Pruitt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Awesome and hilarious classic. Probably my favorite is the Tea, No Tea Concept. Definitely an intuitive satire of life, the universe and everything else that one has to deal with on a daily basis. Truly fun, entertaining and informative. Deeply creative with exceptional characterization properties.

like · see review

May 14, 2011 Jukka added it

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

This is so much fun. Adams is a genius and will live forever!

I'll have to check out the short stories in this, those are new for me.

Characters (entirely from memory): Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod, Trillian, Slartibartfast, and Marvin!

like · see review

Jun 24, 2007 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: recently-read

Hilarious, witty, well written, well crafted, I can't say enough about this perennial favorite. I usually re-read it about once a year because it's just that good. It follows the unusually unlucky everyman Arthur Dent as he flees from the destruction of the earth into a series of impossible, unimaginable, and downright implausible adventures through the galaxy. Be aware that this particular leather-bound hardcover edition was published before "Life, the Universe, and Everything," and so, like ev...more

like · see review

Oct 11, 2012 Shona rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of the few boks I've had stolen from me. I didn't lend it out (would you lend it?), I didn't leave it anywhere - it was stolen. Its the only version of Young Zaphod Beeblebrox Plays It Safe I've ever seen. I first read it when I was ten and have read it yearly ever since. Fabulous book!

like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorites. I've read these books many times over the years, and always suggest them to anyone who would like to try out one of the most cleverly written pieces of mental bubblegum ever written. Douglas Adams was brilliantly hilarious throughout.

like · see review

Feb 04, 2012 Sierra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, signed-copies

I was lucky enough to meet Douglas Adams and Eric Idle when they came to the Miami International Book Fair to promote the book they wrote together, Starship Titanic. My mother came with me for this event. Definitely a highlight.

like · see review

Jul 28, 2011 Neal Kerrigan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure these were the same as reading each book individually. There seemed to be things left out. Adams wrote that different publications had different versions. Good story though the later books fall flat as far as plot

like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Ashley Reeves rated it 5 of 5 stars

YOU ALREADY KNOW. Seriously, everyone loves this. You breathe, you poop, you love The Hitchhiker's Guide.

I was given an old hardcover, bible-looking copy of this by my uncle. Thanks Bubby. Thanks so much for this.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 98 99 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (3)

Genres

Science Fiction

84 users

Humor

66 users

Fantasy

15 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

11 users

Humor > Comedy

11 users

Classics

6 users

Novels

5 users

Humor > Funny

5 users

Space

4 users

Science Fiction > Aliens

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Douglas Adams

Douglas Noël Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Hitchhiker's began on radio, and developed into a "trilogy" of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a comic book series, a computer game, and a feature film that was comp...more

More about Douglas Adams...

Books by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide, #2)

Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide, #3)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide, #4)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The More Than Com...

1 quiz

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide
avg rating	preview: The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide Goodreads rating: 4.59 (2072 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64123.The_More_Than_Complete_Hitchhiker_s_Guide?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1183047496l/64123.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64123.The_More_Than_Complete_Hitchhiker_s_Guide?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams[/url]

The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1-4 & short stories)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website